Arriving at the North Cascade Mountains

We arrive in Winthrop, Washington, on the eastern side of the North Cascades, for a few days of hiking in the mountains and enjoying the beauty of this area.  We drive up to the Washington Pass overlook (elevation 5,477 feet (1,669 meters)), offering an incredible perspective of the area's towering granite peaks, white granite outcrops, and paths through the towering conifers.  The trail from the parking lot emerges into a viewing area expansive sights of rock faces rising 2,000 feet (610 meters) above Highway 20 through the mountains.  In other directions, jagged ridgelines stand up from the valleys:  Vasiliki Ridge, Snagtooth Ridge, and Kangaroo Ridge.

Road through the pass

Path to the lookout

Emerging at the outlook

Views from the outlook

These mountains started to form around a million years ago as the glaciers chewed their way through the area and formed a sharp bend in the landscape (and, now also, a sharp bend in Highway 20) as two glaciers met, moved together, and created an impressive ridge separating the two.  During periods of glacial maximums, only the very tops of the mountains were free of the ice, with the glaciers forming alpine lakes and steep and craggy mountains as they retreated.

Highway 20 (North Cascade Highway) through the mountains took 79 years to complete.  The first attempt was in 1893 when workers roughed out 12 miles of highway only to have it wash away in floods in 1897.  In 1932, a three new routes were proposed and studied for 25 years, leading to the choice of the current route on which construction began in 1962 with opening in 1972.

Highway 20 is closed every winter for 5 to 7 months, closing in November or December and reopening in April or May.  The road crosses dozens of avalanche paths and the passes (Washington Pass and Rainy Pass) receive up to 15 feet (4.6 meters) of snow throughout the winter and avalanches often leave over  20 feet (6 meters) of snow on the road.

We return from the pass to Winthrop, 30 miles down Highway 20 from the outlook and check in to our hotel on the Chewuch River (complete with deck and hot tub for relaxing after days of hiking the mountains).

Views from our deck

And, with the hot tub

It's great to be back and we're looking forward to a few days of mountain exploration.