Cascades section hike

imported
#1

i’m planning to hike the washington-oregon section, sobo. i was planning to skip the northern cascades (sections l-j), for time and logistic reasons, but mainly because i’m going sobo and i’ll hit them first and it just didn’t seem very smart to do the hardest section straight off the couch. however it was recently pointed out to me that what’s really not very smart is to skip the prettiest part of this section. so my two part question is:

  1. just how difficult the cascades are? i’m in pretty good shape, but haven’t done any serious hiking in almost a year. can i do them in reasonable time?
  2. if i decide to do those sections after all, what is another 200 mile or so section that’s not too interesting and easy to hitch around that i’d be better to skip (unfortunately i have to skip something).
    10x

ladybug

#2

If you take it slow, the Cascades are not that tough. There are a lot of passes and the weather can be harsh, but if you keep your mileage expectations reasonable (Under 15, maybe 10 a day) you should be fine. It is rugged, rocky, and lots of switchbacks for a weekend hiker to tackle right out of the box, but there is so much to enjoy along the way that I would say to take it slow and savor it. Washington is the absolute best hiking on the PCT (excluding the Sierras- do the whole state!!!)

I ABSOLUTELY would do at least the Canada border (or Rainy Pass,WA) to Skykomish, WA. Glacier Peak is not to be missed! The whole state of WA is AMAZING!!! All the way into Snoqualmie Pass, Mt. Adams, Goat Rocks Wilderness: beautiful and fabulous views: SPECTACULAR. If anything would skip from Cascade Locks at the WA/OR border (or if you want hike to Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood) then skip down to Mackenzie Pass and hike the Three Sisters Wilderness (another highlight) and maybe see Crater Lake if you have time on the way home (The trail doesn’t even go by the lake).
Hope this helps a little…

Cross Country PCT’02

Cross Country