Littered with the decayed remnants of a civilization gone,
Chancellor in the late 1800's held a small, busy mining community
encamped on the banks of Canyon and Slate Creeks. To this day
prospector claims are in vicinity of the site and are labeled as
Federal Mine Claims, the deeds to which are dated as recent as
2003.
In retrospect, we probably should have turned back from our
cache deployment as conditions were not ideal, but fortunately for
us the slopes were dry* for the two days we occupied them. Lo and
behold the ranger for the district posted the official closure of
Chancellor Trail #754 in Okanogan National Forest the day
before our departure (I check online regularly for conditions) --
we had no idea the trail was in the condition it was. There were
severe washouts around May 18 this year. Rampant with the
notorious, cascading waterfalls of the Pacific Northwest,
for this hike this Memorial Day 2008 we experienced record height
creek levels, and five major washouts, two near perilous (at best)
on Chancellor Trail. Canyon creek, your constant companion from the
trailhead of the same name, is awesome cold. Particularly
impassable washout located at Boulder creek crossing. Not
recommended to seek this cache anytime soon as this is a state
forest and the obstructions are not likely to be fixed anytime
soon.
Option 2: Take the old mining service road from direction
of "ghost town" Barron, WA (the other more prominent relic of the
gold rush era in the area) to the Chancellor site. Cross the bridge
and you’ll reach Chancellor Trail heading due south towards
Granite Creek. It is 9 miles in total either direction. Please
note: sign marking trail closure was on ground near trail
marker. 1880 Ghost town and several, often abandoned mining
encampments along Canyon Creek abound. Happy trails.
*As of 5-24-08 very much a requirement on this hike.