The North Cascades is a National Park that’s been on our bucket list for years. Situated ~2.5hours drive North East of Seattle (~6hours from Portland), it’s a little too far from home to do it justice in a long weekend. So, we were both excited now we the time to spend ~1week exploring it and it did not disappoint!
We had been following reports of the progress of wildfires around the National Park in the last few weeks and had one of our campground reservations cancelled the week before so we didn’t quite know what to expect, but luckily we had no issues with smoke or air quality.
Before entering the park we did a couple of epic hikes that had panoramic views across the Cascade range. Two of our favourite hikes each required ~10 miles of driving up gravel/forest roads to the trailhead. Mel described it best as being in the terrible bumper car rides where you are being thrown left and right and trying not to be sick, while climbing further and further up the valleys… Luckily Dora (our campervan) made it unscathed even though last time we attempted something similar, we ended up with a flat.
Our Favourite Day Hikes
North Mountain Fire Lookout - this was an easy hike and had fantastic views of Mount Baker and the surrounding area. The fire lookout is now an Airbnb which is actually how Ben found out about the hike. Visiting it has made Ben want to stay there even more, however Mel with her fear of heights and the fact the whole tower sways as you climb up the stairs might mean she vetos this idea.
Sauk Mountain - After a quick pit stop for a lunch and a milkshake, we climbed 1105 ft of elevation in 29C/84F heat, up 30 switchbacks… not sure what we were thinking! Neither of us had been feeling 100% since returning from the UK (think we picked up a virus) and combine this with Ben consuming too much pizza/milkshake at lunch meant he failed to live up to the ‘leave no trace’ principle after projectile vomiting at the summit of the hike in some tree roots! How he managed to do this and not be seen is a mystery but we felt EXTREMELY sorry for the couple who were arriving for the view a meer 10 mins later.
Thunder Knob Trail - Of course Ben needed a picture next to the trail head sign (kudos to whoever named this trail). Probably our favourite hike of the trip. A steady 1.8 mile climb to breathtaking views of the turquoise waters of Diablo lake. No filter required!
Mel’s 1st Overnight Backpacking Trip
Bens Perspective - I’ve been wanting to take Mel on a backpacking adventure for some time. Ross Lake offered a great introduction with a number of campsites dotted around the lake which you can either hike or Kayak too. I settled on one that was 7.5miles in, one night of camping & 7.5miles back. Given it was just an overnight trip, the aim was to travel light, but take enough kit that Mel enjoyed the experience and would want to do it again. The hike was challenging but achievable so I thought I judged this little adventure perfectly.
Mel’s Perspective - oh Benny… A little adventure would have been fine had it not been day 5 without a shower and being the middle of the summer heat and mosquito season! Bens little ‘tent’ was a lightweight one that he had used meaning it didn’t have a lining to keep the insects outs, and had a 4inch gap between the edge of the tent and the ground. This gave spiders, dino sized ants and mosquitoes an easy path to come inside the tent and say hi! Add in the fact I did think every rustle was a bear coming to eat me, it wasn’t the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had! And who doesn’t love a vault toilet? But jokes aside, who needs sleep when you get to swim in a gloriously cold and clear lake, watch the starry starry sky whilst coming across deer pottering along on the hike back! Memories that will last forever :-)
What’s Next?
A long weekend in Portland, to unpack, wash and repack, as we head to Alaska on Monday! We hope to explore a lot of this remote state, visit four of its eight National Parks and to Mel’s delight she’ll be able to shower whenever she wants.
What an adventure! Have an amazing time in Alaska!