Thunder Creek Trail via Colonial Creek Campground/ 雷霆溪步道

  • Reading time:6 mins read

Thunder Creek Trail starts from Colonial Creek Campground by North Cascades Highway. The nearly 20-mile-long trail becomes Park Creek Trail after Park Creek Pass. Meanwhile, it’s the quickest way to Mount Logan via Fremont Glacier.

Ridgeline from Thunder Creek Trail
Ridgeline from Thunder Creek Trail

See more trip photos here.

Thunder Creek Trail at a Glance

Access: Thunder Creek Trailhead
Round Trip: 13 miles
Elevation Range: 1240′-2000′
Gear: none

GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes

The Preface

The dire holiday weekend weather forecast had me scratch Saturday due to rain and snow. So I resorted to a two-day trip to Tricouni Peak but forgot to check the trail conditions. Oddly, the Marblemount rangers didn’t mention the washed-out bridge.

We spent our first night this season in the car by the highway. The following day, we awoke early and drove to the campground crowded with holiday campers. Then we left Thunder Creek Trailhead before 7 AM under a cloudy sky.

Thunder Creek in the AM
Thunder Creek in the AM

See more trip photos here.

Thunder Creek Trail

As I vividly remember, there wasn’t much to see the last time I hiked this trail. The flat path would stay in the dense forest most of the time. But at times, I’d get a peek into the valley through several tiny openings.

Once over the bridge, we were east of Thunder Creek for the rest of the hike. En route, we met three groups at the tail end of their trips. They all came from McAllister Camp at mile 6.5, but none mentioned the washed-out bridge.

Under construction
Under construction

See more trip photos here.

McAllister Hiker Camp

Soon past Neve Camp was a brief reroute off the muddy path due to recent trail work. Soon, we came upon the massive landslide by the clearing before McAllister stock camp. Then just as we prepared to cross the bridge over Thunder Creek, there wasn’t one!

Yikes. Then I realized I should’ve checked with the ranger station about the current trail conditions. But it was on me since I had forgotten to ask. So the pup and I spent the next two hours trying ways to ford the creek but to no avail.

The washed-out bridge before hiker camp
The washed-out bridge before hiker camp

See more trip photos here.

Back to Colonial Creek Campground

Ha! We had no choice but to scratch our initial plan to have fun elsewhere. But it was hard to let go of plan A when we didn’t have backup plans. At least we made an outing of all this and a heavy pack as the training weight.

Despite the cloudy weather, people came out to enjoy their walks nonetheless. We met several groups en route back to the trailhead and mentioned the washout.

Heading out
Heading out

See more trip photos here.

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