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Crow Pass Trail (page 2)
 I brought a pedometer along and used it to determine
distances between landmarks and points of interest in my field notes.
Unfortunately, as I tired my steps resembled more loafing than hiking, so
the pedometer did not register well. Included
with this hike are four topographical maps of the trail.
The description of the hike is divided into four sections with a link to
the corresponding map at the beginning of each section.
Click here to jump to Crow Creek Map Part
I
The trail begins at the stairs next to the toilets.
I left the parking lot about 1:00 p.m. on Friday.
The beginning of the trail is the big climb to the pass at 3,383 feet.
Fortunately if you start at the parking lot, you have already knocked off
1,600 feet. About twenty to thirty
feet up the trail there is a sign-in sheet for trail users.
A half mile up the trail there will be a turnoff to the left.
Follow this short diversion for a view of two waterfalls.
Trees become sparse at 1.1 miles and the trail continues along side of a
rock field.
 At the 2 mile mark find some old abandoned mining
equipment to the left. A rock with
a plaque commemorating Harry Ingle Staser, owner of the Monarch Gold Mine, sits
next to the trail just ahead. The
trail branches above. The trail to
the left heads back down, so I turned right and continued up. I came to another fork and kept to the left.
I understand that this took me up the “old trail” but it gave me some
fabulous views of the waterfalls of the north fork of Crow Creek.
Most other people stayed right and took the switchbacks up to the new
trail. At about the two and a half mile mark I had to cross a small
stream, easy enough to step across on rocks sticking up out of the water.
Here I found a terrific view of three waterfalls and a sweeping view of
the valley at the top of one of the falls.
The cool mountain breezes started to cool me down rapidly, so I was glad
I had a polar fleece pullover.
 At 3 miles I met up with the new trail and continued to
the left. At 3.5 miles I found the
public use cabin. There were a lot
of people up here. Many people
enjoy climbing up to the top of the pass and then heading back down the way they
came. This can be done in about
three to four hours. A hike up to
have a picnic and enjoy the views on each side of the pass is a terrific way to
enjoy the highlights of the trail without the effort required to complete the
entire trail. Sarah from Anchorage
was reaching the cabin as I arrived. She
decided to take a quick afternoon hike, but was not going to complete the trail
that day.
I continued on a snowfield that passed an old abandoned
shack to cross over the pass. The
pass is large and flat and a bit marshy, with severa l snowfield crossings.
At the 4.5 mile point I caught my first glimpse of Raven Glacier, which
would dominate the right side of the view for the next mile and fill Raven Creek
below. I met up with Ramzi from
Hawaii just as he was making his final ascent coming from the opposite
direction. He took some time to
fill me in on what to expect and gave me some idea of what I would be looking at
in terms of depth of the creeks and rivers I would have to ford.
The trail is not always apparent as it crossed rocky
fields, but fortunately there are a number of rock piles that mark the way.
At about the 5 mile point I had to start crossing some steep snowfields.
These I consider the most dangerous part of the trip.
It is difficult to stomp into the hard pack.
If I had lost my footing in the snow the slide would have taken me a hundred
feet down to a rocky landing. This
is why I highly recommend bringing hiking poles.
When I came to the last snowfield I made a mistake and crossed to the
other side before I noticed that the trail went down the side I had come from.
So I had to cross back over the treacherous field to rejoin the path.
Click here to jump to Crow Creek Map Part
II
 Just past 5.5 miles I forded the first creek crossing.
I quickly switched into my Tevas and walked across with no problem.
The water was shallow and cold, which felt great on my feet and reduced
the swelling somewhat. At this
point the trail levels out. Although
it increases and decreases in altitude from time to time, it remains a gentle
downhill along the side of Raven Creek. Along
this section I spotted some incredible wildflower patches including bluebells,
geraniums and paintbrushes. I was also treated to some more wonderful waterfall views to
the right.
Click to go to page 3 -->
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