theladysnarkydame (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
theladysnarkydame) wrote2019-08-12 04:35 pm
theladysnarkydame) wrote2019-08-12 04:35 pm
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We went camping in Newhalem this last weekend - it's a campsite near a tiny company town of the same name (owned by the Seattle City Light company, and populated entirely by either government employees, or employees of the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project).
The campsite is one of our favorites - we've been there once a year since we moved to Washington. We go there when we want a really relaxed kind of camp, since it has proper flushing toilets and rangers on site. This year they've added Bear Safes to all the sites (last year they'd only added them to one of the three loops) which is nice, since it's in the North Cascades National Park and bears are definitely a thing to be aware of, even though we've never seen one yet.
Last year we walked all the hiking trails that actually meet up at the campground - some really lovely trails through some old-growth cedar forests near the river, a trail that winds through meadows that are what's taking over an area that caught fire a few years ago (the burnt out stumps and stark, bare trees are very dramatic against the riot of purple fireweed and bright green new growth), and a trail that overlooks a 1400 year old hunting camp (lined with educational signs and kept up by the forest service).
Since we did that last year we ranged farther afield this time - we drove about an hour or two through the bordering Mt. Baker - Snoqualmie National Forest and looped back into the North Cascades National Park to find the trailhead for the Cascade Pass - one of the most popular hikes in the area, but we haven't done much hiking, so it was new to us.
The trail goes up via 30 plus switchbacks through towering trees - near the end of the switchbacks you start to see glimpses of the valley and the mountains nearby. The trail then leaves the trees and crosses steep meadows filled with wildflowers, and a scree field that echoes with marmot whistles and the squeaky cries of pikas (one of these adorable things ran right up to Chad and my shoes as we hiked down - either very curious, or just wanting to get us further away from its hideyhole). Shortly past the scree field there's the pass itself - a flat spot lined with stones that looks down an impressive spread of valley and peaks. We stopped there, rested, and turned back, because a 7 mile round trip hike is plenty for us right now. Alternatively, we could have followed the path all the way to Stehekin - 30 miles further on - but we definitely weren't prepared for that sort of trek.
The road up to the trailhead was windy and steep - the views from the road were pretty great on their own.
The trailhead itself has stunning views - this day started wet and gray, and the clouds lingering around the peaks made it all very dramatic.
The switchbacks through the forest were still damp from the clouds. Everything felt lush.
Once we got high enough, the view started to open up.
There were lots of tiny waterfalls, falling through moss covered cracks in the stones and surrounded by flowers.
If you zoom into the center of the picture, you might see the face of the marmot sitting on the rocks
There he is
Tiny Chad headed toward the scree field
It was very windy at the top of the pass
As we started back down, the sun started to come out, but clouds filled the valley below
The little pika that I almost stepped on - the glare on my phone screen made keeping him in the shot kind of difficult
The switchbacks into the forest were now covered in cloud
I took about 230 more pictures of the hike, just using my phone -- nothing's edited, yet.
I can't wait to do it again. Or to take more of the many many more hikes around - we've lived with the North Cascades in our backyard for almost five years now and barely scratched the surface of it all!
The campsite is one of our favorites - we've been there once a year since we moved to Washington. We go there when we want a really relaxed kind of camp, since it has proper flushing toilets and rangers on site. This year they've added Bear Safes to all the sites (last year they'd only added them to one of the three loops) which is nice, since it's in the North Cascades National Park and bears are definitely a thing to be aware of, even though we've never seen one yet.
Last year we walked all the hiking trails that actually meet up at the campground - some really lovely trails through some old-growth cedar forests near the river, a trail that winds through meadows that are what's taking over an area that caught fire a few years ago (the burnt out stumps and stark, bare trees are very dramatic against the riot of purple fireweed and bright green new growth), and a trail that overlooks a 1400 year old hunting camp (lined with educational signs and kept up by the forest service).
Since we did that last year we ranged farther afield this time - we drove about an hour or two through the bordering Mt. Baker - Snoqualmie National Forest and looped back into the North Cascades National Park to find the trailhead for the Cascade Pass - one of the most popular hikes in the area, but we haven't done much hiking, so it was new to us.
The trail goes up via 30 plus switchbacks through towering trees - near the end of the switchbacks you start to see glimpses of the valley and the mountains nearby. The trail then leaves the trees and crosses steep meadows filled with wildflowers, and a scree field that echoes with marmot whistles and the squeaky cries of pikas (one of these adorable things ran right up to Chad and my shoes as we hiked down - either very curious, or just wanting to get us further away from its hideyhole). Shortly past the scree field there's the pass itself - a flat spot lined with stones that looks down an impressive spread of valley and peaks. We stopped there, rested, and turned back, because a 7 mile round trip hike is plenty for us right now. Alternatively, we could have followed the path all the way to Stehekin - 30 miles further on - but we definitely weren't prepared for that sort of trek.
The road up to the trailhead was windy and steep - the views from the road were pretty great on their own.
The trailhead itself has stunning views - this day started wet and gray, and the clouds lingering around the peaks made it all very dramatic.
The switchbacks through the forest were still damp from the clouds. Everything felt lush.
Once we got high enough, the view started to open up.
There were lots of tiny waterfalls, falling through moss covered cracks in the stones and surrounded by flowers.
If you zoom into the center of the picture, you might see the face of the marmot sitting on the rocks
There he is
Tiny Chad headed toward the scree field
It was very windy at the top of the pass
As we started back down, the sun started to come out, but clouds filled the valley below
The little pika that I almost stepped on - the glare on my phone screen made keeping him in the shot kind of difficult
The switchbacks into the forest were now covered in cloud
I took about 230 more pictures of the hike, just using my phone -- nothing's edited, yet.
I can't wait to do it again. Or to take more of the many many more hikes around - we've lived with the North Cascades in our backyard for almost five years now and barely scratched the surface of it all!
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The clouds look amazing, I especially like the shot where they completely fill the valley.
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