CASCADE PASS

WHERE:  From I-5 north take highway 20 east to Marblemount.  As highway twenty turns left you will see a bridge in front of you crossing the Skagit river.  Cross this bridge and you are on the Cascade River Road which should be followed to its terminus about 22 miles away.  The drive up Cascade River road goes through some pristine rainforest with many large trees that are almost reminiscent of the coastal rainforests (at least the few that still remain undisturbed).

THE TRAIL:  This trail is 3.7 miles long to Cascade pass where 1,800 feet of elevation is gained beginning in a forest of Noble and Silver Fir then Mountain Hemlock and finally sub-alpine meadows at the top.   The view of Mt. Johannesburg is breathtaking.  There is a sign at the bottom of the trailhead telling the visitor to keep an ear out for ice breaking of the hanging glaciers.  When I heard the first piece of ice break off I thought how lucky I was to witness this event of nature.  After hearing the same thing several more times and reading trail reviews after getting back home I discovered that this must happen all the time (kind of like rocks falling into the crater of St. Helens).  On the way up I saw an Owl of whose species I could not identify although my best guess would be a barred owl.  I also saw many Pika on the rock formations near the top.  I had never encountered such brave Pika's (usually they go scrambling for cover).  From the top of Cascade Pass there are many options for continuation:  The Stehakin valley, doubtful Lake, Sahale glacier.  If you are going to camp make sure to get a permit at Marblemount.  I took the trail that went toward Doubtful Lake and Sahale arm reach a ridge with a great view down to the lake.  There was also a brave Grouse near a shrub to greet me.  Since I got here late the last of the crowd where already heading down the mountain by the time I reached the pass which also allowed for a nice twilight hike back down to the parking lot.