Grasshopper Pass
Sep 06, 2008
by
Eric le Fatte
—
last modified
Sep 11, 2008 06:31 PM
- Type of Outing
- Overnight
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Tatie Peak and Grasshopper Pass
- Region: North Cascades -- East Slope
- Agency: Okanogan National Forest, Methow Valley Ranger District
- Trails: Grasshopper Pass (#2000)
- Avg Rating: 3.08
View west from below Tatie Peak.
The five mile stretch on the PCT from the Meadows campground trailhead to Grasshopper Pass is almost everything a ridge walk should be: easy hiking, interesting wildlife, and expansive views. The region isn’t crowded because it’s relatively remote: five hours from Seattle, and eight hours for the likes of me. Faisel and I headed out at 2 am, got to Mazama at about 9, and took about another hour up to the trailhead. The dirt road is generally well-graded, but does include the invigorating half mile section at Deadhorse Pass, where our Subaru expressed some concern about the drop off.
Since Faisel was testing out a new knee, and given the painful cost of gas, ours was a lazy two night foray, restricted only by our sloth, our desire for a scenic campsite, and the location of water. Although predictions were for three days of sun, on Saturday we witnessed a battle between an American high and a Canadian low that resulted in significant cloud cover and blustery winds. From the trailhead at about 6500 feet, the pale green larches intimated that this place will be absolutely stunning in a month, but it was very pretty even still. We packed up the sparsely vegetated trail with views East and North, crossed the first scree slide, rounded the bend at about a mile and a half, and the horizon opened out to the West. Ballard, Azurite, and the Needles held the clouds on their heads. The next mile and a half sometimes edges and sometimes runs along the ridgeline. Views are constant to the South and West, and occasional to the North and East. Fireweed, blue bell flowers, yarrow, thistle, multiple species of saxifrage, and cereal box red paint brush decorate the way. We stopped at the pass below Tatie Peak at about three miles to reconnoiter. Faisel counted a few backpacking pairs and small groups of day hikers while I took an hour and a half to loop up to Grasshopper Pass and locate water. As others have noted, there’s a little stream with a few pools in a charming bouldery basin below Tatie, about four miles from the trailhead. It’s visible from the trail, about 100-200 yards down.
Back at the three mile pass, Faisel and I ate a late lunch and opted to camp on a patch of grass at the rim of the North-facing basin under increasingly threatening skies. We ambled down to collect water and back up to our tent at sunset. By then the wind was blowing, so we donned all our clothes, cooked, ate dinner, drank cocktails, and composed new constellations in a sheltered spot. Faisel saved the evening’s only shooting star to accompany a devoted cat into the afterlife, and the wind blew through the night.
Sunday’s skies were clear, and we loitered over breakfast before rambling to Grasshopper Pass. Rounding one switchback below our camp, I startled a cougar who quickly bounded uphill and out of sight. I was relieved that he didn’t stick around to pose. Up at Grasshopper Pass, a family group of ptarmigans meandered about, and a raven and sparrow hawk took turns playing with the air currents. We lunched with Ballard and Azurite, trekked carefully up 7125 peak, and returned to our camp after drawing more water and visiting with sociable pikas. We celebrated again on Sunday night, revised our constellations, went to bed, and awoke to mostly clear skies. We saw numerous chipmunks and ground squirrels along the trail, but missed the wolverine two incoming day-hikers spied on the hillside a mile or so from our car. We decided to drive past Deadhorse Pass before our traditional trail’s end beer and lunch. The Subaru seemed pleased at our decision, and happily conveyed its unexpectedly sensible cargo eight hours home.
Since Faisel was testing out a new knee, and given the painful cost of gas, ours was a lazy two night foray, restricted only by our sloth, our desire for a scenic campsite, and the location of water. Although predictions were for three days of sun, on Saturday we witnessed a battle between an American high and a Canadian low that resulted in significant cloud cover and blustery winds. From the trailhead at about 6500 feet, the pale green larches intimated that this place will be absolutely stunning in a month, but it was very pretty even still. We packed up the sparsely vegetated trail with views East and North, crossed the first scree slide, rounded the bend at about a mile and a half, and the horizon opened out to the West. Ballard, Azurite, and the Needles held the clouds on their heads. The next mile and a half sometimes edges and sometimes runs along the ridgeline. Views are constant to the South and West, and occasional to the North and East. Fireweed, blue bell flowers, yarrow, thistle, multiple species of saxifrage, and cereal box red paint brush decorate the way. We stopped at the pass below Tatie Peak at about three miles to reconnoiter. Faisel counted a few backpacking pairs and small groups of day hikers while I took an hour and a half to loop up to Grasshopper Pass and locate water. As others have noted, there’s a little stream with a few pools in a charming bouldery basin below Tatie, about four miles from the trailhead. It’s visible from the trail, about 100-200 yards down.
Back at the three mile pass, Faisel and I ate a late lunch and opted to camp on a patch of grass at the rim of the North-facing basin under increasingly threatening skies. We ambled down to collect water and back up to our tent at sunset. By then the wind was blowing, so we donned all our clothes, cooked, ate dinner, drank cocktails, and composed new constellations in a sheltered spot. Faisel saved the evening’s only shooting star to accompany a devoted cat into the afterlife, and the wind blew through the night.
Sunday’s skies were clear, and we loitered over breakfast before rambling to Grasshopper Pass. Rounding one switchback below our camp, I startled a cougar who quickly bounded uphill and out of sight. I was relieved that he didn’t stick around to pose. Up at Grasshopper Pass, a family group of ptarmigans meandered about, and a raven and sparrow hawk took turns playing with the air currents. We lunched with Ballard and Azurite, trekked carefully up 7125 peak, and returned to our camp after drawing more water and visiting with sociable pikas. We celebrated again on Sunday night, revised our constellations, went to bed, and awoke to mostly clear skies. We saw numerous chipmunks and ground squirrels along the trail, but missed the wolverine two incoming day-hikers spied on the hillside a mile or so from our car. We decided to drive past Deadhorse Pass before our traditional trail’s end beer and lunch. The Subaru seemed pleased at our decision, and happily conveyed its unexpectedly sensible cargo eight hours home.
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View to Ballard from Grasshopper Pass.
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