Looking north down the broad, glacial carved valley of Thunder Creek Michael Kirshenbaum. The Thunder Creek Trail begins in ancient forests and takes the hiker on a sojourn into the heart of the park, following the cloudy-blue, glacier-fed creek from its lower forested reaches to its origins high on the heathered slopes of Park Creek Pass. Day hikers can take an easy stroll two miles (3.2 km) to the first bridge, or do a longer, more strenuous hike up to Fourth of July Pass or farther along the main trail. Backpackers enjoy the lower reaches of the Thunder Creek Trail as a shoulder-season getaway, or mid-season as a multi-day trip up and over the spectacular Park Creek Pass into the Stehekin Valley. See the detailed trail description for more information on this area. Beyond the Thunder Basin hiker camp, the trail continues its climb over another 1.5 miles (4.2 km) through steep meadows and snowfields to Park Creek Pass (6,100 ft/1860 m), a notch between Mt. Logan to the northeast and Mt. Buckner to the southwest with views in both directions into the great valleys below. An ice axe is often needed for travel over the steep snow of this pass through mid-summer. The subalpine meadows surrounding the pass have been eroded from past uses. There is no camping at the pass or in the surrounding fragile meadows to allow these plants to recover and survive. Camping in the designated sites below the pass helps keep the meadows healthy for all to enjoy.