North Cascades 2022 (3)

July 20th midway through my time in the North Cascades, I would switch campgrounds. It has been hard to secure campsites but I found that in the days before you intend to travel some people will cancel. So I was able to secure a week of camping at two different sites in the North Cascades. The initial stay was at the Newhalem Campground. Today I would move over to Gorge Creek Campground for the the rest of the week. Gorge Creek Campground is hands down my favorite of the commercial campgrounds in park (though when biking over the pass staying at the walk-in sites at Colonial Creek campground is definitely the way to go). Gorge Creek only has 10 sites, is on this little spit into the river, cannot accommodate RV’s and has no running water. Definitely a bit of a different experience than the big campgrounds filled with gigantic vehicles, “glamping” and kids running everywhere. As a base for day hikes Gorge Creek is where I like to be.

Views from Rainy Pass

Washington Pass

After a few days of camping and hiking I need to replenish my supplies. As I like to do I drove to Mazama in the Methow Valley. The North Cascades Highway (HWY 20) is IMO the most scenic road in N. America. And yes I’ve been over Going to the Sun and through the Bitterroots and so on. N. Cascades Hwy takes you past three reservoirs of turquoise glacier-melt and right through a mountain range. Driving through the Alps is a common comparison.

The 20 takes you first over Rainy Pass at around 4500′ where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses the hwy. Fantastic views of mountain ranges on both sides of the highway here. The road descends 500′ or so (very disheartening when bicycling over the pass) before climbing to 5600′ and Washington Pass. At the pass is a series of scenic overlooks giving you various angles on the most scenic stretch of highway wending through a bowl created by mountain peaks.

Once over the pass the climate immediately changes. Dryer, scrubbier, less undergrowth and increasingly hot. I made my way to the oasis of Mazama and bought ice, gas, lunch supplies and other necessities. I spent about an hour there before returning to the park.

Check out more photos in my Washington Pass Flickr Gallery which is also embedding below.

Cedar Creek Falls dayhike

I wanted to do an eastside hike that was short and sweet. I knew I’d be starting after noon in the heat of the day. I didn’t want to be too late at the campground as I still had to setup. There are quite a few hikes from the east side that take you east back into the mountains but they all seemed overly epic. So I settled on the Cedar Creek Falls hike, which was only a four mile roundtrip and promised a lovely waterfall.

The trailhead was in an active sandpit, though not active on this day. Dry and sandy I set off in the hot afternoon. Very quickly I discovered that the wildfires of 2021 had swept through this area and the pine forest I would have been hiking through was now burnt out and more open to the sun. It was less than two miles to the falls but the exposure to the sun was definitely a factor.

The falls are this beautiful split falls pouring out of the rocks. A lovely still pond at the top and several serene places to sit and gaze into the waterfall. I spent a good amount of time here enjoying the sights and sounds of the falls as well as the cool air it produces. I then hiked a bit further up the trail–it continues for many miles to what looks like several good overnight options–before backtracking to the trailhead. I hit 4mi roundtrip on this hike as I arrived back at my vehicle.

I drove back up and over the pass enjoying the beautiful sights from this direction. I arrived at Gorge Creek Campground around five and commenced with setting up, dinner making and so on. A nice middle day of my week in the North Cascades.

See more photos in my Cedar Creek Dayhike Flickr gallery or via the embed below: