HK_NCascades_Final-110

Finding the trailhead: The hike begins at the Company Creek Trailhead. Hike or take the shuttle to the bridge at Harlequin Camp, then walk across the bridge and up the main gravel road for 1 mile to reach the trailhead. The trek ends up at Harlequin Camp.

The Hike

This loop trek combines trails along Company Creek, Devore Creek, and the Stehekin River for a multiday journey into a remote corner of the Glacier Peak Wilderness west of Lake Chelan. The part of the route that falls within Forest Service lands has received minimal maintenance in recent years, a fact that discourages many visitors from going. Expect some brushy traveling in the middle reaches of Company Creek, a deep and difficult ford of Company Creek, and route-finding problems in the open grasslands at the head of Tenmile Creek. This is a journey of unparalleled wilderness quality, providing challenges and rewards in equal measure to the stalwart hikers who venture here.

The trek begins near the mouth of Company Creek, crossing the wooded floor of the Stehekin Valley then climbing steeply through an open woodland of Douglas fir. There are fine views of McGregor Mountain here, and later the canyon of Company Creek appears as the trail rises onto gentler slopes north of it. Company Creek occupies a hanging valley, carved by a glacier that poured into the larger (and deeper) river of ice that coursed down the Stehekin Valley during the Pleistocene epoch. When the glaciers receded, the Company Creek basin stood 1,500 feet above the Stehekin River. During the intervening eons, Company Creek has carved this deep gorge through the bedrock to link the two valleys.

After entering the Glacier Peak Wilderness, the path levels off. It now traverses arid, south-facing slopes that provide superb views of the crags up the valley. Sable Ridge is the closer summit, and beyond it is Bonanza Peak with Mary Green Glacier on its left flank and the larger Company Glacier to the right of the summit. Douglas and bigleaf maples are prevalent in this area, providing splashes of fall color in late September. As the trail makes its final climb into the hanging valley, look eastward to see the rocky face of Rainbow Mountain.

The trail now levels off for easy trekking through a young forest of hemlock and silver fir. The respite is short-lived, since the middle reaches of the valley are clogged with brush, and progress is impeded first by stinging nettles and later by boggy seeps. The forest returns for the final mile to the ford of Company Creek, where there is a campsite near the knee-deep crossing. Beware of swift currents and slippery rocks. On the far bank, the path climbs gently along the south edge of the valley. There is little brush aside from a few scattered patches of devil’s club, and traveling is easy as the trail makes its way to the mouth of the Hilgard Creek valley.

As the trail rounds the corner and starts up Hilgard Creek, the rugged backside of Mount Lyall becomes visible to the north. Once in the Hilgard drainage, the trail crosses an old burn that has grown back in white pine and Douglas fir. An avalanche slope reveals a summit of Sable Ridge, and as the forest grades into spruce and silver fir, there are tantalizing glimpses of Devore Peak up the valley. After several more brushfields, the path enters an old-growth stand of spruce, where stout boles rise at regular intervals from the tidy forest floor. After a considerable jaunt through the forest, an avalanche clearing marks the spot where the rather faint trail fords Hilgard Creek. Continuing upward along the far bank, a succession of snowslide meadows offers ever-improving views of Devore Peak, and the many regal summits of Sable Ridge present themselves one after the other on the opposite side of the valley.

The trail soon finds its way back to the east bank of the creek, where it completes its journey into the larch and heather basin at the valley’s head. A sheer headwall guards the edge of the basin, and the faint path climbs to the base of it before turning east toward a narrow, vegetated slope. The ascent to Hilgard Pass begins with gentle switchbacks that cross slopes studded with anemones and other blossoms. The headwall is taller than it first appears, and soon the path zigzags steeply through narrow couloirs between the outcrops. Look west on the final pitch for a superb view of Martin Peak with its massive glacier. Atop the divide, heather meadows face north toward McGregor Mountain and south across the deep gulf of Railroad Creek to Tinpan and Buckskin mountains.

Below, the glacier-carved vale of Tenmile Creek stretches southward, and the trail zigzags steadily downward into the open grasslands of its headwaters. Route-finding talent comes in handy as the path is overgrown with grasses in many places. It charts a downvalley course to the east of the stream, and soon the open meadows give way to stands of ancient spruces. The trail approaches Tenmile Creek, then swings away from it as it climbs moderately across the avalanche scars to approach the mouth of a side valley that enters from the east. High on the timbered slopes is an unmarked trail junction; turn left as our route zigzags upward at a rapid pace. At the top of the grade, hikers get magnificent views of Copper Peak and Mount Fernow, which rise to the southwest in a crowd of jagged spires, rocky pinnacles, and sparkling glaciers.

The trail now turns eastward into a meadowy basin, then climbs the wooded slopes north of it. This is the realm of heather and subalpine fir, and the path makes its way through gently sloping glades to reach the broad gap of Tenmile Pass, which is wooded richly in fir and larch. The trail crosses the pass through a grassy window in the trees, with sweeping views down Devore Creek, which is flanked by bare and rocky summits. The trail now drops steadily through boulderfields and across vegetated slopes, robed in a dense mat of heather and dotted with copses of mountain hemlock and larch. There are superb views of the Fourth of July Basin during the descent, and of the stone pillars that rise above its western side.

The trail reaches the floor of the basin near its eastern edge, and gladed woodlands reveal the peaks to the east. The spruces and firs soon form a closed-canopy forest as the trail proceeds down the Devore Creek valley, and mountain scenery is limited to a few snowslide paths. The most scenic of these bears the West Fork of Devore Creek, with its waterfalls high above the trail, and higher still the bleached summit of Devore Peak. The trail has lost several hundred feet in elevation, and the forest is now dominated by hemlock and silver fir. The path ultimately crosses Bird Creek, with a woodland camp spot on its far bank. Below this point, the valley supports a sparse forest of Douglas fir that is underlain by low-growing shrubs. Groves of bigleaf maple become commonplace as Devore Creek plunges from its hanging valley toward the head of Lake Chelan. The trail now descends steep slopes high above the streamcourse.

After crossing the boundary into Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, the trail passes above the spectacular gorge at the valley’s mouth. Several waterfalls are visible as the path zigzags down through Douglas fir savannahs to reach the floor of the Stehekin Valley.

At a well-marked junction, a spur path runs south to Weaver Point Camp on Lake Chelan, while the loop route follows the Stehekin River Trail northward for the remaining 3.2 miles to reach the road. A diverse bottomland forest contains such hardwoods as cottonwood, bigleaf maple, red alder, and aspen that provide fall colors in September. The river meanders close to the trail at several points along the way, first revealing Rainbow Falls across the valley and later unveiling the summit of McGregor Mountain. Upon reaching the end of the Stehekin airstrip, turn right twice as the trail runs east to the river then follows it to reach the end of the trek at Harlequin Camp. From here, it is 1 mile by road to the Company Creek Trailhead.

Miles and Directions

0.0 Company Creek Trailhead.

1.4 Trail enters Glacier Peak Wilderness.

5.1 Trail fords Company Creek.

6.6 Trail enters valley of Hilgard Creek.

8.5 Trail fords Hilgard Creek and briefly follows the west bank.

8.8 Trail returns to the east bank of Hilgard Creek.

10.0 Trail crosses the headwaters of Hilgard Creek.

10.5 Bottom of the grade to Hilgard Pass.

11.0 Hilgard Pass.

12.0 Tenmile Creek valley floor.

14.4 Junction with abandoned Tenmile Creek Trail. Turn left.

15.2 Campsite in a high basin.

16.0 Tenmile Pass.

17.1 Trail crosses headwaters of Devore Creek, then follows the west bank.

19.1 Trail crosses West Fork of Devore Creek.

20.6 Trail crosses Bird Creek to reach Bird Creek Camp.

24.3 Top of grade that leads down to Stehekin Valley.

25.0 Junction with Stehekin River Trail. Turn left to complete the loop.

27.5 Trail crosses Blackberry Creek.

27.7 Junction beside Stehekin airstrip. Turn right for Harlequin Camp.

28.2 Hike ends at Harlequin Camp.