I’m thinking of doing a week in the Cascades along the PCT this year. Maybe 100 miles or so. I have two questions: 1) Where should I start/end? and 2) What time of year is best to go?
Thank you!
Bob
Bob
Best part of the Cascades?
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#2
Bob,
I did a week hike last year from White Pass (The Kracker Barrel Store) to I-90 Snoqualmie Pass. GREAT HIKE. I believe it is 98.9 miles, pretty easy hiking (for the most part) Nice start point at the little store on White Pass (the trail is about 700 feet south of the store and a nice ending at the trail head on I-90 with a short walk 1000 feet to the stores at Snoqualmie. The trail was great with maybe 2 points that were a little confusing and not well marked. First one was right at the start of White Pass maybe the first 100 feet (lots of feeder trails, and there is a lake near by so it is well used) and I believe at Arch Rock Way. Anyway it wasn’t that big of a deal and only took a couple of minutes of looking around to figure it out.
If you do this hike try and time it to stay at Camp Urich at Government Meadow. It is a great cabin/shelter (free) I don’t know if you are a thru-hiker or not but it put all AT shelters to shame.
I did mine starting 7/10/05–7/15/05 and had great weather, some drizzle/fog but no true rain.
Looking to do a couple of 100+ milers this summer and finsh the WA PCT. Good look, email me if you need more.
I only took the PCT guide book and it was plenty
SweetAss
SweetAss
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#4
AHHH…it was given to me by a girl named Odessey on my 03 AT thru-hike.
I meant to give you just a little more info the other day…
Miles. We started around 1100am on 7/10
Day 1 17.3
Day 2 21.4 (we should have done about .5 more and got to scouts Pass but we weren’t sure how much further we had to go.
Day 3 13.6
Day 4 18.8
Day 5 18.8
Left 11 miles to Snoqualmie Pass and I think we were there by about 100p.m. Like I said above, mostly easy hiking. Also when it wasn’t foggy or a light (very light) drizzle it was wonderfully sunny. The last 30ish miles takes you through several clear cuts and some old forest fires. There the sun was pretty warm, I wouldn’t have really cared to walk them in a down pour.
Good luck, happy hiking!!
sweetass
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#5
Best 2-4 day hike in Washington is from White pass south through the Goat Rocks wilderness, Mt Adams wilderness and then on to Indian Heaven is you have more time. August is usually the best time in this area, most of the snow and bugs are gone.
The Lee’s
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#6
The best thing would be to start at Snoqualmie Pass and hike north to Manning, but that is beyond the 100 mile bound.
A very popular, reasonable, not super hard hike is Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass, which passes right through the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and is really stunning. Distance is under 100 miles by a little bit. However, transit between the end points is a little tough.
You can get to Manning Park via public transport, which makes it a fairly logical terminus. You could hike from Manning to Stehekin, catch the boat out, and I think there is a bus stop somewhere close by. This would also be (well) under the 100 mile limit. This is also, I think, my favorite leg on the WA PCT.
If you can arrange transit out to Stevens Pass (maybe a Greyhound toward Leavenworth and ask to be let off at the pass), then hiking north to Stehekin gets you the fabulous Henry M. Jackson and Glacier Peak Wilderness complex.
The best time is easy: mid-late July through to mid-late August. You won’t have snow and weather is stable.
Suge
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#7
I did the Manning to Stehekin stretch this year (100 miles), and I would vote for that as the best PCT stretch in the state. Amazing views and very very few people until I got to Bridge Creek south of Rainy Pass. The only part of the PCT in WA I have not done is the White Pass to Trout Lake (Goat Rocks-Mt.Adams) section. That is also suppose to be excellent.
I also recommend the mid July to August time frame. I did it in early July, and the weather was perfect, however. And September in the Cascades is just fabulous as well.
I have some pics of that section here if you care to look:
http://community.webshots.com/album/378871684NBIINY
Seracer