Canyon Creek Loop Fail
Our travel took place on the ancestral lands of the Stl’pulmsh (Cowlitz), Qwû’lh-hwai-pûm (Klickitat), Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla peoples who have stewarded those lands since time immemorial.
My partner and I have a bad track record of trying to hike or ride in the mountains too early. We’re both from warmer places (California & Georgia) so, even after 8 years of living here we both get a little confused. Last year we tried to backpack around Mount Baker in early July and were thwarted by thick snow cover, this time we tried to bike around the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in late May and also ran into a lot of snow. I was trying to come up with a fun and simple backcountry route for an upcoming Friends on Bikes campout and this was not the one. I thought this would be a cute sub-30-mile loop starting from Zig Zag Lake and following Canyon Creek Road, I was very wrong.
I drive a Prius C which is a very tiny car and nearly bottomed-out several times trying to get to the trailhead. My more rational partner had to talk me out of trying to drive up a very narrow and bumpy road and to take a detour. The detour was also fruitless because there was basically a small lake in the middle of the road and no way my tiny car would make it through it.
The small lake we decided not to try and cross
So we decided we would just bike the 2 miles to the anticipated start point and go from there. It was a really steep and rocky climb — the gravel was not friendly — and I was very grumpy by the time we got to the top of it. We had a few miles of decent riding and then we hit snow. We had to push/pull our bikes over some melting snow while wearing sneakers and sandals, respectively, for about three hours. Despite my partner asking me if I wanted to turn back several times I said no, that I wanted to see this through.
That was dumb, giving up is great.
We kept slogging and eventually got to a really beautiful downhill through deciduous forest on the north side of the mountain and made it to Canyon Creek Campground.
The campground was beautiful but it was full of pretty rowdy people. One family’s dog was following me and growling at me and they refused to put her on a leash despite me asking several times. The bathroom was also vandalized so badly that a ranger told me they were taking it out of commission. It’s also worth mentioning that you cannot access the creek from the campground — it’s a very steep drop. However, it’s a short half mile walk/ride to a bridge which crosses the creek and allows safe access to the creek. We filtered water there without incident, but it is downstream from a campground where people are now burying their waste since there is no restroom. If all of that sounds like a bummer, I think it is but you can make your own call.
The bright spot was meeting our camp neighbor, a very sweet golden retriever that wanted to be our friend so bad. She brought us her binky and kept us company all evening.
Glimpse of Wy’east
I don’t think this is a great bikepacking trip, but would make a great day ride when there isn’t snow all over. You could actually make a loop from Zig Zag Lake and/or connect it with other routes for a longer day.
The good:
Glimpses of Wy’east (Mount Hood) and Loowit (Mount Saint Helens) from the trail.
Challenging climbs and gorgeous descents
Lots of tree cover, so you’ll never get too hot
The bad:
This route doesn’t get you high enough to get really good views/prospect
You need really chubby tires to be able to weather the variable gravel conditions — I got several flats (but I finally went tubeles)
Water is hard to come by along the trail until you’re at lower elevations
Disrespectful campers in National Forest — I think it’s because there’s no entry fee and less monitoring