HK_NCascades_Final-32

Best season: Mid-April to early November as far as Tricouni Camp; Late July to mid-October for Park Creek Pass.

Difficulty: Easy to Tricouni Camp; moderately strenuous beyond.

Elevation gain: 6,540 feet.

Elevation loss: 1,660 feet.

Maximum elevation: 6,100 feet at Park Creek Pass.

Topo maps: Ross Dam, Mount Logan, Forbidden Peak; Diablo Lake, Mount Logan.

Jurisdiction: Ross Lake National Recreation Area, North Cascades National Park.

Finding the trailhead: Follow Washington Highway 20 to Colonial Campground at mile 130.2, 11 miles east of Newhalem. The trail begins at the south end of the campground, next to the amphitheater.

The Hike

This trail was originally blazed by prospectors bound for the gold-bearing veins along Skagit Queen Creek. A number of hard rock claims were staked, shafts blasted into the mountainsides, and by 1905 the first of a series of mining consortiums were incorporated to scratch out fortunes in precious metals from this remote mountain wilderness. Equipment and supplies had to be packed in from Marblemount by mule train, across the narrow ledges of Devils Elbow and through the deep forests that led along the Skagit and up Thunder Creek itself. But the veins were shallow and the ore played out quickly, so the mining companies went bankrupt and the prospectors went away penniless. The wilderness has since swallowed up most signs of their vain efforts.

Today, the Thunder Creek valley offers a long trek through old-growth conifers to the remote alpine basins near Park Creek Pass, deep in the North Cascades backcountry. This valley bears the marks of heavy flooding in 2003, which forced a re-routing of the trail.

The trek begins by following an arm of Diablo Lake, with periodic views of its turquoise water. This unique coloration is the result of glacial silt, which flows down into the lake from the Boston, Klawatti, and Neve glaciers. Glacial silt is so fine that it floats suspended in the water, refracting light so that only aquamarine colors escape. After 0.9 mile, the trail reaches the mouth of Thunder Creek, where drowned forest can be seen dating from the floods of 2003. A bridge once sited 3 miles downstream was built in 1913, packed overland piece by piece by mule. Its original site was flooded in 1928 during the construction of Diablo Dam. It is ironic that in 2003, natural flooding destroyed the footbridge sited here that replaced the historic structure. Now a well-built trail continues up the west bank of the stream, climbing through an old forest where ancient, post-fire Douglas firs are being overtaken by the more shade-tolerant western hemlock. Watch for fern moss on the forest floor. The trail then descends to follow the purling waters of Thunder Creek to the new bridge that leads across the stream to the ancient grove of spruce and hemlock at Thunder Camp.

The twin camps of Thunder and Neve occupy particularly striking stands of timber on both sides of the junction with the Fourth of July Pass Trail. Beyond the camps, the Thunder Creek Trail climbs gradually along steep hillsides, and a sturdy bridge spans a tumultuous feeder creek to reveal Thunder Creek far below, coursing noisily through a rugged canyon.

The path then ascends onto stony slopes that burned in 1970 and again in 1990. Colonial Peak can now be seen up the valley of Neve Creek. After dropping into the trees, the track ascends onto a second open slope, which faces up the drainage of McAllister Creek. The path then drops into the bottomlands, passing the McAllister horse camp and the short spur trail that leads to the hiker camp across Thunder Creek. Beyond this point, heavily timbered bottoms are littered with nurse logs that provide seedbeds for shrubs and young trees.

At mile 7.5, the trail crosses Fisher Creek to reach Tricouni Camp, which has views of Tricouni Peak. The views improve as the main trail climbs a burned ridgetop along Fisher Creek, and now Snowfield Peak is visible to the northwest. As the trees close in, watch for a thundering waterfall on Fisher Creek. At the top of the grade, the trail reaches a lofty shelf where the Fisher Creek Trail joins in from the east. Junction Camp is located here, at the edge of a wooded scarp with views through the trees of Forbidden and Tricouni Peaks. At the far edge of the shelf, an unmarked spur descends steeply to the ruins of old log cabins at the edge of a swampy meadow.

The trail then begins to descend across a steep mountainside wooded in Douglas fir. Openings in the forest are frequent, revealing Tricouni and Forbidden Peaks and offering glimpses of Boston Glacier through the trees. At the bottom of the grade, the path crosses a substantial stream and flirts with Thunder Creek before turning inland for a vigorous ascent. After much climbing, the trail returns to Thunder Creek at an impressive waterfall. Above the falls, a bridge leads to the far bank. The path now surmounts the ridge that divides the Thunder and Skagit Queen watersheds.

After a short distance, Skagit Queen Camp occupies a loose grove of mature silver fir. Just beyond the camp, watch the slopes below the trail for the ruins of the Skagit Queen generator house, which dates from 1905. Water was piped downhill from Thunder Creek to run a Pelton wheel, which used the flow of the water to generate electricity for the mill that served the Skagit Queen Mine. The mill and pipeline are of great archaeological interest and are protected by federal law. Feel free to observe them, but don’t disturb the ruins or the pipeline.

The trail now zigzags aggressively up the slope, making frequent crossings of the pipeline. The path ultimately swings east into the hanging valley that bears the headwaters of Thunder Creek. The forest is now distinctly subalpine, and numerous rockfalls have built up piles of talus below the rugged cliffs. These boulder fields provide homes for hoary marmots, which are abundant in this high basin. After a mile of gentle climbing, the roaring creek is replaced by glassy runs that glide through logjams. The trail levels off as well, and avalanche slopes offer tantalizing glimpses of the peaks that line the valley. The largest of these clearings is just below Thunder Basin Camp, and it reveals the mountains in their full glory.

The trail then crosses Thunder Creek to reach the camp, which occupies a dense grove of subalpine fir with limited views. Where the trail continues upvalley, avalanches have all but erased the trees from the west side of the basin, making for spectacular vistas. The trail sticks to the forest edge, then zigzags lazily upward through copses of subalpine fir and mountain hemlock. The trees give way to swards of avalanche lilies on the steeper slopes, with views of Thunder Glacier to the west. The trail tops out in a high alpine cirque, flanked by talus slopes below sheer cliffs of Skagit gneiss. The trail then traverses steep and rocky slopes (ice axes are a must here if the snow has not melted), approaching Park Creek Pass through a scattering of subalpine larches.

From the pass’s alpine meadows and rock fields, hikers get superb views of Booker Mountain to the west. Northward views stretch all the way to Mounts Redoubt and Spickard on the Canadian border, and south views find the shining summit of Glacier Peak presiding above a turbulent sea of craggy summits. Ahead, the Park Creek Trail descends toward Stehekin.

Miles and Directions

0.0Trailhead in Colonial Campground south unit.

0.6Junction with Thunder Woods Nature Trail. Stay left for Thunder Creek.

1.4Bridge leads across Thunder Creek to Thunder Camp. Trail now follows east bank.

1.7Junction with Fourth of July Pass Trail. Continue straight ahead.

1.9Spur trail descends to Neve Camp.

5.9McAllister horse camp.

6.2Spur trail leads across stream to McAllister hiker camp.

6.6Trail leaves Ross Lake NRA and enters North Cascades National Park.

7.5Trail crosses Fisher Creek to arrive at Tricouni Camp.

9.7Junction Camp. Fisher Creek Trail splits away to left. Continue straight ahead.

13.3Trail crosses upper Thunder Creek above an impressive waterfall.

13.5Skagit Queen Camp.

16.4Thunder Basin Camp.

19.0Park Creek Pass.