Easy Pass, Fisher Creek

Went with my friend Seth to the North Cascades and were hoping to go to Thornton Lakes, but when we arrived at the Wilderness Center, we were informed that all 3 permits had already been handed out earlier that morning. So, we asked for a similar hike and the Ranger told us about Easy Pass and her first comment was, "Well, it's not that easy". Boy was she right.

I have been on a couple overnight trips before, but this one definitely pushed me to my limit. There is an initial grind up the mountain in the woods which then opens up for a more level path for about 1/2 a mile. It then starts uphill in earnest and the surface changes to fairly loose rocks towards the top.

Once we reached the summit, we decided to have lunch and soon realized that there was a large army of mosquitos there (I think I was bit at least 10 times before I got the bug spray on me). After lunch we headed down into the Fisher Creek Valley. I was impressed by the great views from the top looking down in the valley, really beautiful. The way down seemed even steeper than the way up and the path is filled with rocks, very narrow and is overgrown in some places.

Fisher camp is located in a patch of trees which was nice as it was a very hot day. The creek still had plenty of water and was a very short walk from camp. There we were met with another huge swarm of bugs (I have literally never seen that many bugs in one place before in my life), but luckily these were mostly flies. Camp was great and throughout the evening we were visited by 3 or 4 deer who walked right into our camp. My Camelbak bite valve was also visited by a small critter during the night, who chewed up a bunch of it. Luckily, it just had a small leak and was able to hold water for the trip back to the car.

The hike out the next morning wasn't too bad as we left early to beat the midday heat. After reaching the top, we hiked down a couple hundred feet to get into a breeze and away from the bugs before we decided to have a snack. Unfortunately, shortly after the snack, my leg began giving me trouble and the pain quickly moved down to my knee. Doc said it was tendinitis likely due to all the pronation caused by loose rocks on the trail. I would recommend trekking poles to anyone who attempts this hike (seemed like we were the only two on the trail without them) as the footing isn't reliable.

Overall a very beautiful yet demanding trail that I would have to prepare for much more rigorously if I was to ever attempt it again. Over 11 miles and 4000 feet of elevation gain in less than 24 hours was a little much for this "rookie" :-).