Fourth of July Pass, Thunder Creek

With weather slated to be cold and rainy in most of Washington my hiking partner and I decided on a low elevation hike that still had decent elevation gain. We chose to head to North Cascades National Park and hit Fourth of July pass, staying overnight at Fourth of July camp.

The weather actually turned out pretty well - sunny for most of the first day, with rain coming around dinnertime and lasting until late evening. And wow! were we glad we picked this hike! Both Thunder Creek (the access trail) and Fourth of July were in magnificent shape (a few easy stream crossings, very little mud on trail, no blowdowns). Parking was simple and safe at the Colonial Creek campground in the Nat'l Park.

Thunder Creek trail gently rolls for 1.8 miles next to a turquoise river. After crossing a great bridge, it's only .3 miles (in some pant-leg-wetting brush) before the intersection with Fourth of July pass trail, which very quickly begins to head steeply uphill. It's all a climb for the next 2.5 miles. It takes a few miles for views to appear in the pleasing forest, but eventually glaciers and mountains begin to peek out between the trees. Two of the three secluded sites at the Fourth of July camp have fantastic views, where campers are rewarded with great views of glaciers and mountains. We snagged a great site and after setting up camp headed off for the 1/2 mile to the pass. Unless we missed something, the pass itself was less than spectacular. There is a really nice ledge, however, which overlooks a tarn and has a nice background view that is great for a lunch or snack.

Bugs weren't much of a problem on the trail, but they were a bit of a nuisance in the camp. A gentle breeze helped out quite a bit. We climbed in the tent early anyway, because of the rain, and frustrated the little buggers to no end. The next morning we awoke to thick fog and dampness, but no rain and no bugs. It only took 2 hours to descend, so with the extra free time we drove to the trailhead for the Ross Lake Dam trail. It's 1 mile one-way with a strange surprise part-way down: a tugboat sitting alone on the edge of a forest. Although we passed a lot of backpackers coming up, we had the dam to ourselves to explore - it was well worth the stop, especially with the toe-tingling view over the edge of the dam.

All in all we were very happy with our choice of overnighters with this trek. It's a great 10.2 RT mile dayhike as well, but it's better when clear skies allow for the views. Otherwise it's a really nice forest hike (which can also be thoroughly enjoyable, of course).

Note that a free backcountry permit is required to camp overnight in all of the backcountry sites in North Cascades Nat'l Park, and they can only be secured the day of the hike (ie., no reservations). There is, however, no need for a national park pass or northwest forest pass. Fourth of July camp has 3 sites available; we were lucky enough to snag the last one for the day.