EXCERPTS
Sample from Introduction
The American Alps
According to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (www.bfro.net), the state with the greatest number of credible Sasquatch sightings—more than 400 at last count—is Washington.
Maybe the elusive big guy is real. Maybe he's a hoax. One thing's for sure. No place else in the continental U.S. has such a high concentration of wild country. Sasquatch habitat, if you will, but definitely hiker habitat.
And at the heart of wild Washington are the North Cascades— enclave of spiky summits, colossal glaciers, psychedelic meadows, cathedral forests.
It's a shaggy, feral, volcano-studded range, with an atmosphere so prelapsarian it’s no wonder people keep staggering out of the woods claiming to have seen monstrous creatures.
The name "North Cascades" refers to the abundance of sky-born waters cascading down these mountains. Myriad trickles, streams, creeks, rivers and falls nourish jungle-like biodiversity.
"The American Alps" is what President Lyndon Johnson called the range in his October 1968 Congressional address endorsing the creation of North Cascades National Park. The nickname stuck.
People fond of other U.S. mountains—the Sierra, the Rockies—occasionally try to usurp the adage. But anyone who’s actually hiked throughout the American West knows better.
The staff of Outward Bound, for example. In their North Cascades mountaineering course description, they invite you to "the American Alps," where you'll climb "open cliff faces" and explore "deep, glacially carved valleys," both of which are "characteristic of the European alpine environment."
But comparing the North Cascades with the Swiss Alps suggests only that the American version has a similar, equally impressive appearance. In other respects, anyone trying to fathom the range before they’ve hiked it should think Alaska.
In the U.S., only Alaska has more glacial ice than the North Cascades. And Mt. Baker’s complex glaciation, which feeds three major river systems, is comparable to that of Alaskan peaks.
Mt. Shuksan, shouldering not just one glacier but four, and ice-laden Glacier Peak also do convincing impersonations of Alaskan mountains.
The North Cascades are also more Alaskan than European in terms of how remote they feel. Only one road, Hwy 20, traverses the range, and it's closed every winter due to heavy snows and avalanches.
Neither Europe nor Alaska, however, can claim the arboreal grandeur you'll witness in the North Cascades. Douglas firs, ponderosa pines, hemlocks, red cedars, and spruce grow so tall and girthy here, they inspire awe and reverence in all who pass.
Outside Washington state, the only place on earth whose mountains are truly akin to the North Cascades is British Columbia. That's because the North Cascades are in British Columbia. They extend across the imaginary line dividing the U.S. from Canada.
That doesn't mean the four Canadian trips in this book are mere geopolitical tokens. They're in the book because they're stellar. Only when you’ve hiked them have you sampled the best the range has to offer. And the best hiking the North Cascades offers is, in our opinion, the equal of any on earth.
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Sample of a Premier Trip
Trip 40 - Spider Meadow / Spider Gap
| Location |
Wenatchee National Forest / Glacier Peak
Wilderness |
| Round Trip |
10.4 miles (16.7 km) to lower Spider Meadow;
16.4 miles (26.4 km) to Spider Gap |
| Elevation gain |
1100 ft (335 m) to meadow;
3600 ft (1097 m) to gap |
| Key elevations |
trailhead 3500 ft (1067 m); meadow 4600 ft (1402 m);
gap 7100 ft (2164 m) |
| Hiking time |
7 to 9 hours for Spider Gap |
| Difficulty |
easy to meadow; challenging to Spider Gap |
| Map |
Green Trails Holden 113 |
OPINION
The name sounds menacing, but the place is
enrapturing. Once you've been to Spider Meadow,
its image will serve you as a haven—anytime
you're stressed, in need of a restful, comforting
thought to restore your calmness and affirm
your sanity. Spider Gap has staying power too,
but with a very different effect. Whenever you
feel jaded, mired in the commonplace, the memory
of its harsh, elemental beauty will resuscitate
the wildness flickering in your soul.
The forested trail—prettier and more
open than the one to nearby Buck Creek Pass—is
a pleasant approach. Phelps Creek is audible.
The miles pass quickly. You’ll soon stride into the spectacle you’ve anticipated: a vast,
sumptuous expanse of greenery bordered by soaring cliffs. Surely this is the Mother of All Meadows. (See inside front cover.)
If you didn't know the trail continued to Spider Gap, you might not believe it possible,
and you’d think Spider Meadow was a smashing destination. But it does continue, so
you scan the headwall. From here it looks absurdly steep and way too high. Nevertheless,
Spider Gap is within striking distance of ambitious, athletic dayhikers.
En route to the gap, Larch Knob is the unlikely location of a marvelous camp…
FACT
By Vehicle
Drive Hwy 2 to Coles Corner, 19.5 mi (31.4 km) east of Stevens Pass, or 16 mi (25.7 km) northwest of Leavenworth. Turn north onto Hwy 207,
reset your trip odometer to zero, and proceed toward Lake Wenatchee. Pass the state park and the road to Plain. At 4.3 mi (6.9 km), go right (east)
toward the Chiwawa Loop Road. At 5.7 mi (9.2 km) turn left onto Meadow Creek Road, which leads north to Fish Lake and the Chiwawa River valley.
Pavement ends at 16.8 mi (27 km). At 28.1 mi (45.2 km) fork right.
The road ascends to reach the Phelps Creek trailhead at 30.4 mi (48.9 km), 3500 ft (1067 m).
Peaks, snowfields and waterfalls are visible from the road.
On Foot
Follow the abandoned mining road—now a pine-needle-covered path through dense forest—beyond the gate, initially north-northeast. At 0.2 mi (0.3 km) pass a right fork ascending east to Carne Mtn.
The road gradually narrows, heading generally north, following Phelps Creek upstream, above its right (east) bank. Enter Glacier Peak Wilderness and pass a campsite at 2.7 mi (4.3 km). At 3.1 mi (5 km) rockhop a creek and walk through glades.
Reach a treed camp beside a meadow, near Leroy Creek, at 3.5 mi (5.6 km), 4175 ft (1273 m). Cross the creek on a footlog or rockhop it in late summer. Upstream 100 yd (110 m) is a waterfall—welcome refreshment on a hot day.
The road is now a trail, gently ascending north-northwest toward the upper reaches of Phelps Creek. Cross another bridged tributary at 4.6 mi (7.4 km).
Spider Meadow spreads out before you at 5.2 mi (8.4 km), 4600 ft (1402 m). …
Want to read about the ascent to Spider Gap? Get the book.
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