North of Glacier Peak, the CCT originally followed Milk Creek north to the Suiattle River. Now the PCT crosses Milk Creek and stays closer to Glacier Peak until it follows Vista Creek out to the Suiattle valley.
Sometime between 1962 and 1971 the current route had been established except that the Suiattle River crossing was at Miners Creek, about 3 miles up river from today's bridge.
Colossal storms in Oct 2003 and 2006 caused the Suiattle, White Chuck, and Sauk rivers to flood, destroying roads, bridges, and trail. With the roads impassable and the PCT left in pieces the area became deserted. For eight years northbound PCT hikers had to exit near Red Pass via the Sauk River.
In 2011 a bridge was built at Downey Creek allowing work on FR-26 to continue up the Suiattle valley. That same year a new PCT bridge was completed about 4.5 miles upstream from the original bridge at a narrow point. It was built of steel I-beams high on concrete pillars. The Suiattle River Road officially reopened on October 25, 2014
Prior to those floods, a popular stop was Kennedy Hotsprings, just a few yards south of where Kennedy Creek enters the White Chuck River, due west of Glacier Peak. There was a lodge, a sturdy bridge, and campsites. All were wiped out and buried in the floods.
The 2003 floods also destroyed the PCT footbridge over Kennedy Creek. A replacement was built, one log with two handrails. That bridge cracked in half, the center touching the riverbed, but was still usable for many years until it was swept away sometime between the 2020 and 2021 hiking season. Today there is no bridge over Kennedy Creek, the most treacherous PCT creek crossing in Washington.
Go to Rainy Pass to Harts Pass
