A relatively short drive (2.5 hours) and we transplanted ourselves from Seattle to North Cascades National Park. North Cascades is a unique park in that it is very spread out and the entire region is actually the combination of three parks (North Cascades, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, and Ross Lake National Recreation Area). We pulled into the park and headed straight to the ranger station to find out more about the park. We didn’t do too much research on the park, just heard it was a remote and beautiful location so we put it on our schedule.
After talking with the rangers and identifying our hike for the next day (Cascade Pass and the Shahle Arm) we took the driving loop of the park. We didn’t have to worry about a campsite in the park as we had reservations at the Newhalem Campground. One of our intended stops along the way was at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center (run by the North Cascades Institute) which is their equivalent of PEEC. Both are residential environmental education centers, both are non-profits operating within a National Park, and both serve similar clientele. We walked in and chatted with a couple of the staff members about the differences and similarities of the two centers. We also decided to hike a four-mile trail on their campus to a beautiful waterfall called Sourdough Falls. It was very different to hike through the coniferous forests which were full of ferns and mosses and then arrive at the base of a waterfall. The water was flowing over in such low volume that it was possible to see individual drops as they cascaded down the 50+ foot waterfall. We hiked back to the center and decided to continue on the Cascade Loop which took us to some other great viewpoints.
North Cascades is unique because in the heart of the park is a series of three hydroelectric dams which generate about 20% of Seattle’s electrical power. These dams are relatively close together and create reservoirs behind them, used for recreational activities. Like Glacier National Park the water had a unique turquoise color caused by glacial flour, or the pulverized rock from the glacial movements.
The next morning we woke up early and headed out to the trailhead for Cascade Pass. With this park being so large and expansive it took us over an hour to drive to the start of the trail, over 20 miles of unpaved road. We pulled up into an amazing parking lot which had great views of multiple high peaks in the park and large cascading waterfalls pouring down. Unfortunately, many of the tops of these mountains were obscured by clouds.
We started out on the trail behind a couple different groups of overnight hikers with various targets for the evening. We switch-backed up the mountain, eventually emerging from the coniferous forest and reaching the alpine zone. We crossed a short (less than half-mile) stretch in the alpine zone and we were at the pass. Cascade Pass afforded Bob Ross-esque views of the mountain range with clouds moving in and out. We took a short break for a snack and proceeded up the arm to the Shahle (SA-HAL-LEE) Glacier. The hike was strenuous but the stretch from the pass to the arm was intense. Each step gained between six and eight inches and was a constant climb up. We worked past Doubtful Lake and could just make out the base of the glacier, which was another mile of trail away. We could see hikers on a ridgeline hiking down from the summit, then within five minutes a solid mass of clouds covered them and the views of the trail. We decided that since our legs were tired, that we were hiking for the enjoyment and the views, and that the views wouldn’t be there, we weren’t going to go any further. We turned around and headed back to the pass.
When we arrived at the pass the views had gotten a little better as some of the clouds had broken. We took a couple more minutes to enjoy it and headed back down the trail to the parking lot. The hike had taken us longer than we initially thought so we headed directly back to the campsite. We wanted to get a good night’s rest because tomorrow we head for Olympic National Park.
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