North Cascades National Park

June 14-17, 2022

I am sitting in our trailer in the Newhalem Campground listening to the rain lightly sprinkle on the rooftop. The setting is forested and the temperature in the 50’s. This is our third day in the campground and we have seen chipmunks scampering and Hairy Woodpeckers flying about. We are hoping for a break in the weather so we can do a little hiking, but in the meantime I can write about our first two days here.

We took a few short hikes around the campground when we first arrived on Sunday evening. The first was the Trail of the Cedars Nature Walk. This connected to the little Seattle City Lights company town of Newhalem via a suspension bridge over the Skagit River. There are three dams on the Skagit River that supply on third of the electricity for the Seattle metro area. The next little hike was to Ladder Creek Falls. We cross the river again up to view the falls.

Our plan for our first full day (since rain is predicted on and off all day) is to drive Highway 20 east through the park and beyond and stop at all of the viewpoints. The first stop is Gorge Lake and Falls. The Lake has been formed from the first dam on the river.

We drive on to Diablo Lake and then Ross Lakes, which were created by the other two dams on the river. Our goal is to hike to Blue Lake, but when we arrived there we found a snow covered trail and not bringing our snow shoes we decided to forgo that one! Who would think on June 14 we would have snow.

We arrive at the Washington Pass (45 miles from our campground), the highest elevation on Highway 20, and it is lightly snowing! After pulling into the parking area for the viewpoint, we walk up the blocked off road to the viewpoint. Walking across the snowy and wet trail we arrive at the top and fantastic views of the surrounding jagged mountains.

The rain is light so we try to find a good place to hike in a little and have our sack lunch. We choose the East Bank Trail. It is a bit muddy but a nice hike in the forest along the Skagit River.

After stopping for a better look at the Diablo Lake at the viewpoint, we head home to our trailer and dinner.