I hiked to Horseshoe basin as a day hike while camping two nights at Basin Creek. A beautiful worthwhile hike, the views of the cirque and cascading waterfalls was very impressive. Also very quiet, on a summer Saturday I did not see another person during the hike.  

The trail starts out brushy and then seems to fade out once reaching the boulder fields. I did my best to follow the 'trail' as shown on alltrails and Gaia map to get to the Black Warrior Mine, but my guess is that what was once the trail was overgrown with bushes. I wish I had saved the text description of the hike that described the location of the mine - it is in a cave next to one of the big waterfalls. It did eventually become obvious as I got closer. Once at the Black Warrior Mine, I sat in the shade inside the entrance of the mine and enjoyed my lunch with a great view of the basin. Then slowly descended back to the trail for the return to camp.  

   Took a side trip to Horseshoe basin after camping at Basin Creek campsite. Sunday was very hot and there is no water on the trail until you reach the cirque. The trail is in good shape, but a bit brushy in the midsection. There is one blow-down which is easy to step over. We went to the base of the waterfalls, but there is not a pool there yet due to the snow there. Dunking ourselves in Basin Creek to cool ourselves was very refreshing. Definitely worth the side trip to see this beautiful cirque!

We started on Sunday 8/10 from the Cascade Pass TH, a friend of ours drove us there and he hiked with us to the top of the Pass. On the way to the trailhead we stopped by the Marblemount Visitor Center to pick up our permit.
The hike to the Cascade Pass was pleasant, even with the extra weight. At the top of the pass we encountered the first bear, a momma with a cub enjoying some berries, they got pretty close to the people at the pass who were busy taking pictures of them.
Most people continued towards Sahale Arm/Doubtful Lake, while we took the trail towards Stehekin. This was a bit scary since the trail was going towards where the bears were located…
The trail to Pelton Basin is good, even if rocky and a bit exposed. We got a spot at the camp and went to filter water at the creek. Just getting close to the creek and we hear people saying there’s a bear behind us, we turn around to see a big black bear 15 feet or so behind… He ignored us and went his way, but it was a bit scary that we didn’t hear anything.
The Pelton Basin camp has bear boxes, kitchen area, access to water and nice views.
The next day we hiked from Pelton Basin to Basin Creek where we setup the tent. The hike is steep with narrow path by the cliff, which made me very nervous, but it gets better after the waterfall. From Basin Creek we hiked up to the Horseshoe Basin. The trail is not well maintained and overgrown a lot. Have long sleeves and long pants if you don’t want to be scratched all over. The views at the top are great!
When coming down make sure to use a navigation, since we’ve met 2 groups that missed the crossing and we’re going to Basin Creek, when they thought they’re going to Pelton Basin.
Again, the camp at Basin Creek has easy access to water, bear box and a kitchen/eating area.
From Basin Creek to Cottonwood the trail is a bit overgrown and there are less people on the trail.
But from Cottonwood to Bridge Creek we only met one group, the trail is unmaintained and overgrown in parts or similar to a forest road in other parts. There are not many views, and I understand now why people don’t hike this way…
From Bridge Creek we headed to High Bridge and we started meeting people who were on the NOBO PCT. At High Bridge we missed the bus by 1 minute or so, we saw it leaving from the bridge :(
But a nice couple gave us a ride in their truck bed, together with some PCTers.
We spent 2 nights in Stehekin, taking it slow.
Make sure to visit the Garden, the Bakery and the Rainbow waterfall. We had the waterfall all for ourselves and swam there!
Great trip, but I think it would be better to either spend more days at the Cascade Pass camps and do day hikes, or at Stehekin, or maybe come from Rainy Pass to Stehekin, the hike from Basin Creek to Bridge Creek was long and boring.

A Classic!

Overview:

Made the drive up north from Seattle for a little overnighter in the North Cascades. Happy to return to this classic PNW hike after a few years away. For those who have never experienced this hike, I would highly recommend checking it out. Great trail conditions with some epic views awaiting you at the top.

Road/Parking:

After turning off the highway in Marblemount, you head out about 20 or so miles up Cascade River Road. The drive is paved the first half or so of the way before turning to well-maintained gravel as it passes through pleasant old growth forest. Easy to get through this in any car. Only 1-2 spots near the end had any significant potholes. Soon you’ll start heading sharply uphill to what is one of the more stunning trailheads/parking lots in the state. We arrived at 8:00am and the lot was mostly full. On our way out late in the evening we noticed lots of people driving up to the parking lot in the dark which gives me the impression that people sleep in their car in the lot the night before. The trailhead has two toilets that were clean (by trail bathroom standards) and stocked with TP.

Trail Conditions:

Overall, the trail is in great conditions. This trail is well known for a mind-numbing amount of switch backs. It makes the accent relatively not steep and easy going. There were 2-3 muddy areas where runoff crossed the trail. Otherwise, it is dry and in good shape. In the last mile to the pass, you will cross a section of loose rocky trail. It is short and easy to cross but some less sure-footed folks might appreciate poles. The views of the towering peaks around you will get better and better. Soon you will be in the flower fields at the pass with views of the whole cascade river valley in one direction and the Stehekin Valley to Mt McGregor in the other direction. There is a pit toilet at the pass that is in relatively good shape. You will also find plenty of flat rocks to take a seat, eat a snack, and enjoy the view before pushing on. We saw lots of goats and marmots around and above the pass. From here most people either head up the Sahale arm or head back to the car. We continued eastward towards basin creek. The trail quickly descends the east side of the pass-through alpine meadows and across small streams. Eventually the path will turn to a loose rocky trail, hugging the mountain side as it continues down into Pelton Basic. The views of the basin from below are lovely and you get the bonus of getting away from crowds. We continued further to basin creek camp. The decent from Pelton Basin down to Basin Creek was more type two fun. The trail is overgrown in places with lots of loose rock. We had the edge of the trail give out on us multiple times. Here we encountered a lot of biting flies which were annoying. And it is sun exposed with very little shade. We appreciated the solitude and different perspective of the surrounding peaks. But the last piece of trail was not as enjoyable. You will cross the river at the bottom of the switchbacks where you can pump water or take a dip (lovely pool to cool off in) before pushing the last stint to the basin creek camp. We stopped here and headed back rather than turning off and up horseshoe basin (felt content with the hike). Note that there was a lot of bear scat on the trail from pelton basin to basin creek – if you are overnighting store food appropriately!

Conclusion:

This is a great hike to add to your list. Great views all around. Goats and marmots. Huckleberries (still too early). Going down from cascade pass rather than up the Sahale arm was a fun change of pace for us to get away from the crowds a bit. The pass is a busy destination so start early or try a later ascent to find parking and avoid crowds.

There used to be a great place to grab pie in Marblemount but it seems it is now closed. Very bummed to learn that.

This was a luxury overnight hike over Cascade Pass to Stehekin and back again, as we would spend the night sleeping in a bed. It was very nice being able to hike to High Bridge with just a day pack.

Beware about the parking situation. The hike up Cascade Pass has become crazy popular. We arrived before 8 AM on a Friday, and there were three parking spots left. When we returned late Saturday afternoon, there were cars parked along the road for a mile.

The 21 mile trail gains 1800 feet from the Cascade Pass trailhead up to Cascade Pass and loses 3500 feet from Cascade Pass down to High Bridge.

The trail is in good shape, but it is showing wear and seems to be more rocky and root-y every year.  Although the trail climbs 1800 feet it does so at a pretty constant rate over 27 switchbacks before you emerge from the forest and traverse about a mile to the pass with great views of the Johannesburg mountains, Eldorado peak and Forbidden. Didn't see too many people on the way up to the pass, and even fewer once we passed the turn off to Sahale Arm and headed down along the Stehekin River.  On the way back on Saturday there were more people on both sections, but not enough to detract from the wilderness experience.

The lunch spot at Cascade Pass always has at least one chipmunk doing the rounds looking for handouts, but this was the first time I'd seen a mountain goat doing the same.

In fact we saw quite a few mega fauna on this trip. In addition to the mountain goat, we encountered a white tail deer buck with velvet antlers at Park Creek and a cinnamon black bear running across the trail by Flat Creek trail junction. There was fresh bear scat all along the trail, and about everybody we met had seen bear.

My only concern about this hike was crossing Doubtful Creek, as the snow melt from Doubtful Lake can make crossings interesting early in the season. As it was, the creek could be crossed without getting our feet wet.  The trail has a talus sections before the pass and a couple after the pass, but they are largely stable. The only real leg burner is the switchback section from Doubtful Creek up to Pelton Basin on the way back. The last half of the trail in to Stehekin is on the old road from Cottonwood to Bridge Creek and is very fast.

If you are planning on going all the way to Stehekin in one day, you are either going have to get a real early start and/or walk fast to make the 3 PM shuttle from High Bridge (reservations can be made at Stehekin Shuttle) or take your time and aim for the 6:15 departure.  The bus is supposed to arrive at the landing before 7 PM just in time to get dinner at the restaurant at the North Cascades Lodge.

We started at 8 AM from the Cascade Pass trail head and arrived at High Bridge at 4, so we had to wait 2 hours at High Bridge for the bus. Good chance to talk to the PCT hikers that had gathered, but had we known how fast we were going to hike this section, we would have detoured into Horseshoe Basin on the way down.

The bus for High Bridge leaves the Stehekin Bakery at at 8:30, so you have time for a leisurely breakfast and stock up on cinnamon rolls before starting out on the return hike.

There is water at Bridge Creek just before you enter the camp area, at Park Creek, at Cottonwood camp (though it is a bit of scramble to get down to the river), Basin Creek, and Doubtful Creek. After Doubtful Creek there are only seasonal streams or trickles.

After Basin Creek camp the trail is largely in full sun until past Cascade Pass.

If you have the time, and your legs are up to it, I recommend the side trip to Horseshoe Basin. If you follow the trail to the very end, it's about a 3 mile round trip with 1000 feet of vertical gain. However, the first mile is pretty flat if your legs aren't quite up to the full climb.