[GermanHiker]

hallo to everyone from germany, yesterday we found this amazing hiking board on the web. after working trough 8 pages and great threads (photo, trip of 2002 ...) we couldn´t exactly find what we´re looking for. so we ask the experiended community for some help: after exploring the southwest of your beautiful country during last 4 years, we´d like to visit the northwest for 3 weeks in july 2003. although there are some german books regarding the northwest, they only represent the main sights (Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Olympic, Glacier/Waterton). so we need some advice for the cascades region. we (27 & 26 good shape ) love to do dayhiking. the only hike we definately want to do ist cascade pass in north cascades NP, because we read a lot of it. what are the best dayhikes in the (north) cascades region? what area would you concentrate on, if you would have 4 days? we´d like to see some of the peaks, glaciers, waterfalls, lakes. North Cascades National Park? Mt. Baker? Glacier Peak? Alpine Lakes Wilderness? Okanogan? - there are so many, we don´t know what to pick maybe a good hike from every region? where would you stay? Mount Vernon or Everett look centrally located. maybe some motel advice? do we need a 4wd to reach the best hikes? thank you very much in advance! Thomas Zimmer if anyone needs some advice for the southwest or hiking in eastern germany we´d love to help!

[#19]

Hallo to you in Germany Cascade Pass is a winner for sure. Great first choice. Make sure you continue up Sahale Arm as far as time permits. I am partial the the North Cascades National Park. but any of the regions you mention are all great and you wouldn't go wrong concentrating your hikes in any of them. Staying north of Everett, you could easily do hikes in the Glacier Peak area too. Some suggestions would be: rated by stars Hidden Lake Lookout - NCNP ***** Sourdough Mt - NCNP ***** Thonrton Lakes/Trappers Peak NCNP ***** Hannegan Pass - NCNP/Mt Baker ***** (taking the one mile spur trail up Hannegan Peak is MUST if you do this hike) Skyline Divide - Mt Baker ***** Green Mt Lookout - Glacier Peak Region **** Glacier Basin - Glacier Peak region ***** Gothic Basin- Glacier Peak Region **** Mt Dickerman - Glacier Peak Region *** These are all popular hikes with great views, but by no mean the only one in these areas. No 4WD needed. You might log on to Amazon.com and consider puchasing "100 Hikes in the Glacier Peak Region" and "100 Hikes in the North Cascades" by Spring/Manning. These books give great driving instructions, hiking time estimates, trail description, etc. Most of these trails should be mostly snow free this July as we are having a light winter so far. Hope this helps, Pappy

[GermanHiker]

thank you very much pappy, we´ll work through those hikes. besides the book, any recommendation of a website, where we can get a first impression of the mentioned hikes. what about maps? does the book contain detailed maps or would you buy them? if yes, which maps do you recommend? btw, can anyone recommend a good, cheap driving map of washington? we only have the randmcnally usa. pappy, where was the picture of your avatar taken? looks great! greets Thomas

[-lol-]

[#19]

Thomas, I have typically bought one or two topographcal maps. US Geological Survey (USGS) and or "Greentrails" at local climbing and hiking shops. Nowdays, there all kinds of ways to obtain maps (and map programs) on the Net. Maybe some else here can help Thomas with some inexspensive ways to get a few topos he might need... My avatar picture was taken at a secret location . But since we've become old friends, I feel it is ok to tell you that is was taken about 2 miles down a ridge from Sourdough Mt Lookout in the NCNP. You get a similar view from the lookout. You can get a better look if you click on my section of the pics. Its the first one. Hope others pipe in here, because I know there are lots of other ideas on how to spend 4 days dayhiking the North Cascades Thomas, do give us a report after you trip, Ok?

[Scrooge]

To your list of books add, "Day Hike! North Cascades" by Mike McQuaide. Find it at - www.SasquatchBooks.com - It includes excellent descriptions of many of the hikes Pappy listed. Many of those hikes have the advantage of being easily accessed from Washington State Route 20, the North Cascades Highway, including the 5 star hikes: - Cascade Pass - Hidden Lakes Lookout - Thornton Lakes To that list, add: - Parke Butte-Railroad Grade ***** on the south side of Mt Baker For places to stay, check out the towns of Burlington and Sedro Wooley through one of the online travel services. For detailed maps, you'll want either USGS or Green Trails (or both). USGS is more detailed topographically. Green Trails is better at showing the local access roads. Both are available online. The specific maps that you'll need are listed in the hiking guides. ....... You'll find the same thing is true if you get hiking guides for Mt Rainier or the Olympics. Let us have your e-mail address, Thomas, and we'll swamp you with pictures of our favorite areas.

[MCaver]

Welcome to the forum. I highly recommend picking up the Green Trails maps for the areas you want to hike. They are pretty inexpensive and are well worth the price. Green Trails I actually haven't done that many hikes in the North Cascades area, but the Baker River trail was very nice, particularly once you get into the park. I'm dying to hiking into the Pasayten Wilderness too.

[polarbear]

Thomas, as far as places to stay go, if you do any hiking at Mt. Rainier, the Paradise Inn is a great place to stay. It was built in the early 1900's, is right next to the Paradise visitor center, and the start of good day hikes like Panorama Point, a loop trail I would highly recommend. I'm not sure how soon you have to get your reservations in at this place if you want to stay there. I imagine it fills up fast. As far as the North Cascades go, one possible place to stay is the Skagit River Resort which is very close to the town of Marblemount where the Cascade River Road is that accesses Cascade Pass. As Pappy mentioned, you if you hike to Cascade Pass, you definitely want to continue on up as far as you can to Sahale Arm. The views from Sahale Arm and at the base of the Sahale Glacier are spectacular and much more encompassing than those at the pass (which is still a very worthwhile destination). We haven't had as much snow this year, but I have no idea what these places will be like in July. Sometimes our alpine lakes are still frozen over in July. I do most of my hiking in August and September. This year, the snow pack so far is far below average so July might be viable. Anyone else want to comment on this? I would check back with this board and also read some of the trip reports on http://www.wta.org/ in May and June to see what the snow conditions are like. One of my favorite hikes is Ingalls Lake which is near Cle Elum

[GermanHiker]

hallo again from germany, thanks to all of you for your help the links were extremly helpful. we have some more questions: do we need permits for any of the suggested hikes? where can we rent some hiking stuff(ice axe, rope...)? we read a lot about bugs how can we protect ourselves, is there any lotion or so you can recommend? what can we do, when the wheater is too bad to hike up the mountains? are there any alternative hikes, maybe some waterfalls? thank you you! Thomas

[#19]

Hallo Thomas, I try to avoid paying fees, so I'll let someone else answer that one. We have some waterfall experts on this board, (one in partciular is 'sore feet') and they can answer that better than I. Probably the easiest place to rent equipment is REI Coop - Recreational Equipment Incorporated. A large store in Seattle and another in Lynnwood on your way north thru the greater Seattle Area. Not sure if they rent ropes though due to liabilities? The trips that were suggested to you will not require a rope, but an ice axe maybe handy. rei.com will connect you. Bugs! Great question. We have had some good debates about when and where the worst bugs occur. I am of the school that believes that early August is the worst time in the North Cascades. Some believe it is July. A bug repellant of 30%- 40% "DEET" (active ingredient) is considered by many to the most effective. Comes in lotions or sprays. You should be able to order through REI. Covering up in light rain gear or clothes is another way to protect yourself. An Inexpensive bug net to go over you head helps a lot when it is really bad. I carry a small towel to swat them with. Someone commented that bad bug years occur following lighter than average snowfall years (so far this year is one), but I couldn't dissagree MORE with that. Heavy snow years means more water. More water means more breeding areas. One thing I've learned is that when and where heavy outbreaks of bugs occur is inconsistent, but there are some things to look for. Cool, cloudy weather - little bugs. First day or two of sunny weather following will be moderate bug days. If good weather persists and temperature rises, the bugs become more plentiful and aggressive. Wind help keep them away too. Hope this helps. Pappy

[Mike E.]

Thomas, If the weather gets bad, and/or you would like to see the East side of the Cascades, (it's MUCH drier here in the summer), I'd recommend driving over Stevens Pass and staying in Leavenworth. From there you can get some excellent day hikes into the Icicle or Entiat valleys. I'd definitely go to Colchuck Lake and if you feel strong enough, scramble up Aasgard Pass into the Upper Enchantments. I don't think that the bugs will be very bad in July this year since the snow pack is so light. But, I have been wrong before. If you get over this way and need maps, (I'll print some for you), or want to use the Internet, feel free to drop in at my shop. I've got a place about 16 kilometers east of Leavenworth in Cashmere. It's called the Gem Shoppe and I'm there every day except Sunday and Monday, (I'm in the mountains those days). Send me an email if you'd like further information about this area. Michael Edgett

[Tom]

Thomas, if you are day hiking, you do not need to worry about permits. Some hikes require you to issue yourself a permit at the trailhead but these permits are unlimited (if you are day hiking). If you are staying overnight then certain areas require permits which are not unlimited. One such example is the enchantment area which Mike E. described. The enchantment permit fees are generally very small (under $5 per day). Again, you only need to worry about these if you are camping overnight. But overall, most places do not require a permit, and if they do, the permits are usually easy to obtain (except for the enchantments) and cost little or nothing. Also, you will probably want to get a forest service "parking" pass. These are required to park at most trailheads and cost about $30 per year. You can buy them at REI (the same place you can rent an ice axe). When you are done, you can probably sell your pass to someone for $20 on this board. Of course, if you are renting a car and don't think they will send someone to germany to collect the parking fines then you can get away without buying a pass .

[polarbear]

From what I saw in another thread, access to Colchuck and Stuart may be limited due to construction starting July 15:

[El Puma]

A beautiful plan for a bad weather stretch is a 3-day circumnavigation (by car with sidetrips) of the Olympic Peninsula. You need to see the upper coast and the rainforest during stormy weather - it's what they are made from and for! Alternate easy-access day or overnight hikes are possible out of the Cle Elum area. Map-wise the Washington Gazetteer provides reasonably good overall access and road orientation statewide; do not use for hiking though. If you don't mind the previous edition, feel free to use ours when you get here! Gruss eines ausgewanderten Schweizers in Seattle!

[David¹]

Hey if you are planning on going to the North Cascades why not look at BC as well? No permits are needed here and the crappy economy means that everything else is pretty cheap. Anyway you can check out the link below - I have a website with lots of pictures of both the cascades and BC - and I have my pick for the best hikes. Off hand my favourites would be hikes around Whistler BC and Artist's Point near Mt. Baker.