This was an all-around great early-season hike. We were coming in in three groups due to differing work schedules so it was important to find a hike with a place to camp close to the trailhead that wasn't car camping. We stayed at Thunder Creek on Friday night which was such an easy walk that two of our party did it at night with headlamps and found us no problem.

Neve camp was our next, very close, stop and is a very nice place to sleep. Pretty, good sites. The source for water is a bit far from all the sites though.

That day we also did Fourth of July pass which was brutal on us. Probably because it is early in the season and we're not in the best shape right now. The climb was steep and long. It took us 2.5 hours to do it going up and 1 hour 10 minutes coming down. Still, it was gorgeous with lots of creeks crossing the trail, all easy to cross, and periodic views of two peaks and a glacier. The view at the top was nice too and a good place for lunch.

The next day was a 4.5 mile hike to Macallister camp. This was a mostly flat trail with a bit of elevation. The hike was really nice with some sweeping views of the river at points and good glimpses of peaks along the way. Also some great vegetation and beautiful waterfalls/creeks. There's a tough crossing right before the camp which requires one to take your boots off and cross in the water or tight-rope across a tree trunk. Kind of intimidating for some. This camp was awesome: large, big sites, all isolated from each other and right on the water. A great spot to spend some time.

All in all this was a great trip. There were some bugs at McAllister but otherwise none at all and the trail was dry and clear almost the whole time.

What a beautiful day in the Thunder Creek Valley. The creek was raging and so were several of the streams we crossed on the way up to the pass (these stream crossings weren't any trouble). We saw a short-tailed weasel (super cute) soon after crossing the Thunder Creek bridge. There were a few dozen calypso orchids along the trail in the mile or so before Fourth of July Camp.

The best views of peaks and glaciers are to be had from the camp. If you continue on, there's another nice viewpoint on a rock outcropping above the Panther Potholes but none at the pass. At the pass, there's a little snow remaining (but barely worth mentioning) and a lot of water that has flooded the trail. (Soon enough, there will be tons of mosquitoes, but not yet.) We continued just beyond the pass to a sweet, lush little stream crossing before heading back.

We encountered only two other parties along the Fourth of July Pass trail - and only a few more along Thunder Creek. A nice, quiet day, and a great workout.

My pup and I set out on this trail around 2 p.m. and still had plenty of daylight to get up to the pass and back down. We set a pretty decent pace and were prepared for a pretty steep climb for the majority of the trail, but what we weren't prepared for were the mosquitoes. If you want a little extra motivation to keep on climbing, just forget the bug spray, because now that it's warmer they will provide all the oomph you need to keep going, the big ones are out and biting! The views at Fourth of July camp are just as good as you will see at the actual pass in my opinion, so if you're looking for a good spot to have lunch or a snack, this is the spot. Some good water sources are found on the way up if you need to refuel. Only a couple of blowdowns. Only main issue on the entire hike was the thirsty bugs!

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.