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Crow Pass Trail (page 3)
The trail became muddy at this point as runoff from the
mountains to the right made its way across the trail to Raven Creek below to the
left. Not a quarter mile beyond the
last two campsites I found a small trail to the right leading to another small
potential campsite. High up on the
mountain on the other side of the creek I spotted a black bear in an open field.
He was too far away to photograph. Fortunately,
he was also far enough away so that I would not have to worry about an
encounter.
At 9 miles I began to find devil’s club growing along
the side of the trail. I was glad
that I had worn pants to protect from the plant’s needles. A half mile beyond I found another good place to camp.
Just before mile 10 I found another campsite on the right side of the
trail. Shortly thereafter the trail
branched left and right. Orange
markers directed me right. This led
to another fork, and again I went to the right, which turned out to be the
correct choice. Perhaps the left
branches are more campsites. At 10.5 I passed through a large camp area where three
tents were sitting with room for more. Just
beyond this site I entered the alluvial plain where Eagle River had once run.
I continued for maybe a half to three quarters of a mile and found
another campsite on the left side of the trail.
It was about 11:30 p.m. and although there was still light, the
surrounding mountains darkened the valley.
I decided that I had better set up camp and make dinner before it became
too dark to see.
We completed the next mile as a group.
The river was only about fifty feet from where I had camped, but the
safest crossing area is upriver about a mile.
We found the crossing at mile 12.5.
Signs here indicated the safest places to cross and gave tips for making
the crossing. I went across alone
first using a tree branch I had found along the trail as a support.
The water turned out to be only knee deep.
The gals hooked up in a human chain as recommended by the signs and
enjoyed a much easier crossing than I did given their increased stability.
On the other side we compared notes about the trip so far.
Nancy had worn sneakers and decided that when she does the hike again she
would definitely want hiking boots. Click here to jump to Crow Creek Map Part III There are plenty of places to make camp at the end of the ford across Eagle River. For those that are doing a two-day hike and want to cross the river before making camp, there are good flat areas to pop a tent. As I hiked on I passed a moose antler lying on the side of the trail. Since moose drop their antlers every winter one would think these would be common, but actually this was the first time I had ever seen one out in the wild.
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At 6.5 miles I came to Raven Gorge Bridge.
At 7.5 miles I was again treated to another view of a
glacier on the opposite side of the creek.
The next morning I knew I would have to ford Eagle River.
