Trapper Creek

Trapper Creek climbs from a quiet trailhead off the Wind River drainage in the Gifford Pinchot, gaining three thousand feet over six and a half miles to a junction near Observation Peak. The lower miles run through Trapper Creek Wilderness — heavy old-growth Douglas fir, western hemlock, and western red cedar, the canopy closed and the floor lush with sword fern and oxalis. The creek runs hard alongside the trail; small unnamed falls drop into pools every quarter mile.

The 2020 Big Hollow Fire burned portions of the upper trail and the slopes around Observation Peak. Standing snags and recovering brush dominate parts of the higher miles. The forest below the burn line still shows what the whole route used to look like — the contrast tells the story of how this corridor changes over the next few decades.

Hikers can extend by looping over Observation Peak, returning via the Observation Trail and cutting the round trip to about ten and a half miles. The ridge views catch Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens, and on a clear day the upper reach of Mt. Rainier. Northwest Forest Pass at the trailhead with vault toilet.