We started at the Robinson Creek Trailhead mid-day with the plan of reaching a site we’d camped at before, about 7.5-8 miles from the TH in a lovely meadow with a big rock to sit on with enough food for a 9 day trip, not sure where we’d go but we would have options. Trail had obviously had more traffic than on Memorial Day weekend when we were there last- blowdown trees we’d bushwhacked to get around now had bypass trails. Lots of brush starting around mile 3 and lasting until the ford of Robinson Creek, which was about mid-calf deep. Our campsite has a very friendly deer that grazed close to us while her two fawns stayed a safe distance away. The number of blowdowns along this trail to Robinson Pass is annoying but not terrible… There’s a campsite near the Slate Pass junction that has water. Robinson Pass is lovely! To camp there you’d need to carry water from the Slate Pass junction or head north of the Pass for a stream. The trickles we found there were muddy. Trail here was in great condition! We saw baby grouse learning to fly and their fiercely protective mother ran us away in the other direction with a loud display. Adorable. More campsites at the second junction for Slate Peak in a meadow- looks like lots of campsite options and water there. We could see that blowdowns had been freshly cut in this area along with two backpacks, some tools and a thing we thought was for carrying logs. At this point the trail started to devolve into a mess of blowdowns. We met a hiker who told us the blowdowns were really terrible. He’d camped at Tatoosh Buttes and still-snowy, Lake Doris. We thought he said he’d come via Hidden Lakes and Shellrock Pass to get to Lake Doris in a big loop to avoid the blowdowns 2x, hmm… We continued through the blowdowns and next we met the two FS men who were there to clear the trail, oh man do they have their work cut out for them  They said they had been working for two days and it looked like they might have cleared ¼ to ½ a mile of trail. We do not believe it is an overestimation that there are well over 100 blowdowns per mile, and likely significantly more between here and the ford of the Pasayten River near the junction with Buckskin Ridge, about 9 miles away. Every kind of blowdown: big, small, multiple trees, across the trail, along the trail. We ended up with the crotch fully ripping out in his pants (thanks OR for giving us a new pair today!) and I with two black and blue legs covered in bruises. By now we’d covered over 10 miles, 5 of it very difficult. Lots of bear signs, including some of the biggest fresh claw marks we’ve ever seen on a tree. Very important to practice bear safety here. I put the bear spray on my hip belt. We camped just beyond the junction to Lake Doris/Shellrock Pass near the noisy stream. The campsites here are small and fit our 2 person tent but don’t think anything bigger would work here. We decided to try for a long day to Tatoosh Buttes and camp there. The next morning we continued traipsing over, under and around the blowdowns for another 5 agonizingly slow miles. Maybe a mile an hour and we normally hike 3mph in terrain like this, even with our 50+ lb packs. At the junction near the Pasayten River ford we found an old falling-apart handwritten FS sign stating that the trail ahead was impassible to stock due to a landslide and lots of trees down. We could see lots of trees down. We were tired of blowdowns so we decided to take the detour and ford the river, which was about knee deep. The trail beyond the river was downright pleasant compared to what we’d been doing- occasional blowdowns, not brushy, etc. The forest was alive with the sounds of animals and trees creaking in the increasing wind. We reached the junction where you can continue straight on to the Pasayten Airfield but passed on the 2 mile detour this time and turned right. Here too is a sign stating that there is a landslide and the trail is impassible to stock. Hmm. So the detour for stock is also impassible to stock? This sign would be helpful at the first detour location. It is quite the landslide! The whole trail is missing on a very steep section and many trees have fallen into the river. We were able to easily get above it but it was not easy to descend back on to the trail. I took off my pack and lowered it to the trail before taking a controlled 3 foot feet first dirt slide to the trail- cautious because if I’d slipped too far would mean falling quite a distance, possibly into the river. It looks like there should be a bridge here anchored on two large rocks but no bridge was in evidence. The water was deep and we could hear the rocks moving in the strong current. I think a ford here would be thigh deep in the shallowest sections. We found a two-tree collection to slide across with some difficulty- you either have to change trees mid-river or stay on one tree that ends a foot or two before you reach the other side of the river. Not for the timid, which I count myself as. The Tatoosh Buttes trail starts off in lovely forest alive with low underbrush and the sounds of birds. We had another tricky log crossing at Lease Creek, but a ford here wouldn’t be deep if you wanted to take the time to deal with it. We passed a marked junction for Lease Lakes—but there is definitely no trail there—just the signs. The trail gets very steep to the Buttes and the wind was viciously cold as the clouds grew dark and drizzly. We put on our raingear to block the wind first and secondly for the very light drizzle. Once on the ridgelines the trail gains and loses elevation through meadows and burned tree ghosts. It’s lovely. More mother grouse and babies. It’s definitely baby season in the mountains! We were tired and didn’t realize we’d reached the buttes- having been eyeing the ridgeline towards Ptarmigan Mountain and mistaking it for the buttes along the way. We ended up camping on Tamarack Ridge in a meadow. There was a little trickle of water below the tallest Butte and another on the way to Tamarack Ridge but we don’t know how long there will be water here for camping. This is a stunning, starkly beautiful place. Wow. The wind is bitingly cold and we put on all our warm layers, grateful we had a 15f double sleeping bag to snuggle up in. We had brought microspikes, considering going over Ptarmigan and Dot mountain and back via the Col west of Lago... but from afar we could see that was clearly ice axe terrain. The small patches of snow at our elevation were very hard and it seemed likely we'd need crampons for that traverse right now. Boo. We *really* didn’t want to go back through the 1000+ blowdowns, especially as we were already down one person’s pants (he was now hiking in sweaty hot rain pants that had a new tear in them). Despite all the joking about hiking without pants being the *new ultralight thing*, we really didn’t want to do that and it would be painful. I repaired the pants a second time that evening (the repair had ripped out rather quickly that morning), hoping they might hold if we had to hike out through the blowdown town. The rangers had suggested we hike out via Hidden Lakes since it was freshly logged out! And we *thought* the one hiker we met said he had come via Shellrock Pass on the Monument Creek trail. It was marked on the green trails map as a dotted line, which in other areas usually means a passable trail (haha, not in the Pasayten!). We decided to head for Shellrock Pass after spending the night at Hidden Lakes. The next morning it alternated between bitterly cold wind and snow and sunshine, finally settling upon bitterly cold wind and snow showers. We went to the ridge of Ptarmigan Peak and looked down at Ptarmigan Lake and the Tamarack valley. We could hear wolf cubs yipping in the breeze, sounding fairly close by. The snow turned to rain as we descended towards Hidden Lakes. There were maybe a dozen annoying blowdowns to contend with. A couple of small streams for water. Then we found freshly cleared trail about a mile from the lakes- heavenly! It’s brushy in places but otherwise totally clear. The Hidden Lakes weren’t visible until we were upon them, true to name. I wanted to find the Monument Creek trail for the next morning so we continued past the lakes for a while… never seeing a junction. If the Lease Lakes trail wasn’t on the map and had signs, shouldn’t a trail on the map have a sign?! We pulled out the map and GPS and returned to the south end of the last lake where the trail should be. The talus is arranged like an old junction and the rocks made a neat crossing, like a trail should be there. But no trail. We bushwhacked a little through very thick underbrush, finding some old cut blowdowns—this must have been the trail. Trail is no more. I cried, knowing we either had to go back the way we came or hike out to a different TH and figure out a way to get the 50 miles back to our car. We backtracked to the Hidden Lakes to think and camped at a major camp area with two outbuildings and a nice stream for water. There was an occupied tent near the hiker campsite- we walked right by and talked in case they would pop out and have information for us, or maybe even offer us a ride the next day? Maybe they were sleeping  It rained but was pleasantly warm compared to Tatoosh Buttes. Things were not sounding good for us right now. No pants. Covered in bruises. On the plus side we still had 4 days left of food and more if we ate sparingly so we did have options. This was the first time we’d ever wanted to use the satellite phone we carry for emergencies in the backcountry. We texted out and asked a friend if there was any taxi service in Mazama or Winthrop. Two hours later a message came back. Yes. Mountain Transport and here was their phone number. We contacted Mountain Transport and were told they usually want 2-3 days notice. We said we’d try them back in a couple hours in case they changed their minds. We resolved that we’d be going out via Billy Goat TH even if they said no- at the worst we camp at the TH until we can hitch a ride. On our second call, Mountain Transport agreed to get us at the Billy Goat TH (horse lot) at 3pm the next day for $279. We decided that was worth it to us and gave them our CC information to reserve the pickup. That TH was 16 miles from where we were camped and an extra mile to the horse lot. We were on the trail before 7am, knowing we’d have to hike steadily and quickly to make it there on time. We made good time and were 5 miles on our way by 9:15am. We took a break near Diamond Creek after crossing a REAL BRIDGE (not the ford I’d been anticipating) and enjoyed a snack. The trail steadily climbs from here but never really steep. We moved slowly, wanting to conserve energy. About halfway to Lucky Pass is a pretty meadow area with a nearby trickle of water that could be a nice camp. We passed one party of two carrying an uncomfortable looking raft headed to Hidden Lakes. I’d put that thing in a pack for a 16 mile hike! This made 3 hikers, 2 FS employees as our human total in 5 days. Almost to the pass is a pretty rocky outcrop. All along the way are amazing views of the surrounding peaks, Many Trails (which has no trails on the map, ha!), Three Pinnacles, Rampart Ridge. We took a longer 15 minute break to dry out our feet and enjoy the sunny weather- it was only 11:30am. Go us! Lucky Pass doesn’t appear to have anywhere to camp. Lots of trees down and no water. We descended a steep rocky dry path for a while- no sign of the single long switchback on our GPS (marked on the map as a 2 mile alternate route). Many blowdowns had been cut- looks like this would have been very unpleasant before the log-out. The trail descends to cross Drake Creek on a bridge just after a junction stating that the Billy Goat TH was 4 miles ahead and a left turn towards Larch Creek (and Hidden Lakes 12 miles the other way). We were getting tired but 4 miles sounded manageable. The bugs were really bad in this section. I wear clothes treated in permetherin so they mostly avoided me but my sweetie was eaten alive. There were annoying bugs everywhere else along the trail besides Tatoosh Buttes but this area is by far the worst. We hadn’t read the map carefully—another 1,000 foot gain to Eightmile Pass before the descent to the TH. This felt like a really long 4 miles to the gate at the road, followed by another mile to the horse lot. We arrived at 2:30pm with very tired feet and 1 minute later- the taxi showed up. The driver told us all about the area and his adventures on the 1.5 hour, 50 mile ride back to our car at Robinson Creek TH. FYI: should you ever have to hike out another trailhead in an unplanned fashion in the general area, the cabbie recommended that you make your way to a campground as they are regularly checked by FS employees, even in remote areas like FS Road 5130. The FS employees can radio out to call you a mighty expensive cab ride like ours, or you might find people willing to give you a ride! (I always carry $100 emergency cash in my 10 essentials for a scenario like this) Boy, this was long! Our route 58+ miles, 12500 elevation gain and 10500 loss over 5 difficult days. I think once the Pasayten River section is logged out this hike will be much easier  The FS guys said it was a priority because Slate Pass road will be opening soon. I’d check with the Rangers before heading out unless you enjoy this sort of adventure!

With lingering snow still covering most of Cascades we decided to head to the Pasayten for some snow free travel. For the most part we made a wise choice. Tuesday we parked and hiked in the Andrews Creek trail off the Chewuch River Road. Thankfully it was cloudy and cool when we stared because this is a dusty horse trail. Nothing remarkable as we hiked through through the burn and up to Spanish Creek Camp. After Spanish Creek we jumped on the Boundary Trail and views and terrain were much improved. We encountred patches of snow but nothing that posed a problem. After dodging showers while walking on the ridge we descended to Ashanola Creek. We had put in about 23 miles since 9am we were happy to come upon a shelter before the river crossing. The small shelter had 4 rickety bunks that gave us a refuge from the on again off again showers. We slept like crap, but stayed dry, and rose to a clear chilly morning. Day 2 started climbing steadily to Pevee Pass and then up and over Bunker Hill. We had an awesome morning of hiking as we enjoyed the high country of the Boundary Trail under incresingy sunny skies. Again we skirted around patches of snow and crossed one decent snowfield, but it was nothing we couldn't follow. The trails were soggy. Our feet were rarely dry on this trip. Bunker Hill is a pretty long and slow climb. We enjoyed a quick lunch stop up top and discussed the likelihood that if we continued on the Bounday Trail we'd eventually face a sketchy crossing of the Pasayten River. We decided to follow unmaintained trail #456 and approach Tatoosh Buttes via Hidden Lakes. The descent was tough. It amounted to 4 miles of trying to pick up an overgrown trail through a burn over what seemed like hundreds of blow downs. My knees and legs are still knicked up. Finally we made it to the Hidden Lakes trail and hiked a what seemed like a long 2 miles. Hidden Lakes was hot and buggy. We missed trail #485 as we walked to the end of the lakes and then had to backtrack and find the trail. It was not signed and we trounced through waist high brush. Finally we were on a real trail again and we ascended to Tatoosh Buttes on the steady switchbacks. We hit a few decent snowfields as we topped out at 7100 ft. The views were awesome but a brisk chilly wind prevented us from staying. As dusk approached we descended through the burn down the Pasayten River. After a long day this seemed to take forever and was hard on tired legs. We finally made it to the creek where found the camp that no longer was and had do a really chilly creek crossing. It was getting dark and we briskly walked up trail #478 along the Paayten River looking for somewhere to camp. We found a spot flat enough to put down a tarp tent and a bivy. The bugs were present but tolerable and overall it was a good find given out predicament. We had hiked over 30+ rugged miles for the day. Rain/drizzle woke us up and we broke camp pretty quickly. We had a soggy start up this pretty level trail along the river. After a mile or two we started to see plenty of decent campsites. We passed two Outward Bound groups, the only other hikers we saw the whole trip. A pretty quick 13 miles got us to the junction between the the trail to Hart's Pass and the Robinson Creek trail. As much as we wanted to continue to the PCT we realized there was significantly more snow on the approaching ridges. We settled for Robinson Pass which was a sunny snow free destination. After a quick lunch we pushed on down the trail. This is a beautiful trail as it lowers from pass level into an impressive river gorge over 9 enjoyable miles. After 22 miles for the day we reached the Robinson Creek trailhead a long ways away from our car on the Chewuch. We walked down Harts Pass road thumbing later learning that we should have been "little-bitting" it to get a ride. After about 5 miles of road walking we caught a ride to the Mazama Store, just in time call a friend in Twisp to come get us and drive us to our car. I didn't want this hike to end and when it was time to leave I wanted to go back out and hike more of the Pasayten. For the most part it was snow free, a little wet, not too buggy, and pretty much was as spectacular as everybody says it is. We figure we hiked over 80 miles on this 3 day trek.

Backdoor Tatoosh Buttes, via BC Pasayten R. Sept. 29-Oct. 3. 2010 I visited Tatoosh 11 years ago and was not thrilled with the miles of horse-pounded tread in the Pasayten River valley. But the spectacular nature of the destination remained in my memory. So with a bit of research I schemed this route, allowing a single day approach, some travel on abandoned historical trails, and a bit of heedless illegal entry. It had been on my list for a couple of years, but it seemed perfect for the weather window we received. My commute to the TH just east of Manning took 3.25 hours (no wait at border). I suppose it is fitting that one has to poke around to find the unmarked trail heading south to the Parson Smith tree (removed years ago and reportedly on display at Early Winters) site. I immediately began to appreciate the scope of the fire that ravaged the area (watched from Jerry Lakes in 2006). Not much green left for squares of miles. The 2 miles to the border are entirely in burned over forest. The trail is crude but mostly logged out. I passed the 6m border swath and obelisk #85 without ceremony and continued onward to my wilderness date with Tatoosh. I will admit to having a fugitive-like scare when hearing a Border Patrol helicopter within 15 minutes of re-entering my country. I was in the open, no forest cover left. But it was not for me and sped east on the border line. Relief! This US section (#461) has been tagged with red tape and remains quite level for the 2 miles to the former bridge site, connecting with the border trail #533. The bridge is a charred memory. I crossed near the former cabin site ("Pasayten cabin", built by FS in 1930s) where the Pasayten is much shallower. No sign of the cabin but think I found the old privy. At about .5 mile Bodhran, ever steadfast, and I picked up the faint track heading up Ptarmigan Ridge. I want to say that I have traveled both burned-over trails, and long-forgotten trails, but not in combination; consider me now educated. Things were fine up to 4700’; I could discern the track with little difficulty. But from there to 5500’ it became a ghost of a trail in a jungle of downed timber, scrub trees, & annual growth. Really, it was an imaginary friend more than anything. When I found that friend I clung to him desperately, because as marginal as that trail was, it much better than clamoring fecklessly through, as it will henceforth be called, The Carbon Forest. I will add here that the trail represented on USGS is only a rough approximation. On a lighter note, fireweed has ripened and the seed fuzz was ready to fly; it was fortuitous that sweaty hiker-guy was passing through to foster propagation; I looked like a chicken-plucker for half the climb. Conditions improved on the upper section of the ridge, as well as my ability to detect “trail” versus “not trail”. So after 9 hours of toil, Bodhran & I arrived at expansive golden grassy meadows, with a feast of Pasayten peaks all around. The spring from my prior visit was dry, but I found a better one another mile or so further at the 7000’ level. It had a rocky bottom, about 4 inches deep, and good year-round (saw caddis fly larvae) flow. No need for filtering. We had 4 nights to enjoy Tatoosh and commenced that project not long after unpacking. Nights were spent staring upward into the cosmos and days wandering the Buttes, Tamarack Ridge, and Ptarmigan Peak (12th entry for the year). I also checked out tarn 7064’ north of Tamarack R. It was shallow, but picturesque with alpine larch in their prime. It was also a good chance for a sorely needed cleansing plunge. The highs were consistently around 63, and lows ranging from 28-40f. There were fabulous camps north of Ptarmigan Peak at the headwaters of Tamarack creek (Larch groves & reliable water). On the second night I was awakened at twilight by coyotes nearby, of course Bodhran was already out of his sleeping bag sitting at my side, sniffing intently. They were within 50m, barking, yelping, woofing, & howling, both north and south of our bivy. They eventually consolidated downwind, and then dispersed. I think they were calling Bodhran a wuss for eating fancy food, & needing a bag to stay warm. He seemed to get over it by breakfast. Stratus started blowing in at daybreak on Sunday, but I had already feasted at the all-you-can-eat buffet of Quiet, mulled the map connecting the Wilderness dots, and contemplated my place in this N. Cascade sea of mountains- Eight-thousand foot breakers of tawny grass. It was time to pack and go, back into the dreaded Carbon Forest. But on the return I was stronger, lighter, and more disciplined at maintaining the track; it went better, only 7 hours to the truck. The whole heedless border thing really took a back seat to the toil and route-finding effort. I guess that is fitting; it really should be about the landscape, not arbitrary (49th parallel) boundaries. Trip stats: 13 miles & 3900’ gain.

This is my first ever trip report, so please bear with me... I've noticed that there are some inconsistencies between different maps and trail description sources, so for clarity all references to trails, mileage, elevation, place names, etc., have been taken from the Green Trails map series for this area (Horseshoe Basin - No 21, Coleman Peak - 20, Billy Goat Mtn - No 19, Pasayten Peak - No 18, Jack Mtn - No 17, and Washington Pass - No 50). Milage and elevation gained and lost are my best estimates (i.e. no software to do it for me), and are approximate. Day 1. 7.6 miles, +1200', -350', total elev.= 1550' (+3 miles and 1100' up and down Armstrong Mtn) 3 of us started from the Iron Gate TH, in perfect weather, on Wed, July 1. The drive to the TH was fine - road a bit rough, but not nearly as bad as some have suggested. Saw a nice, healthy looking black bear right out of the gate, about 3 miles into the trip. A good omen. Made it to camp in Horseshoe Basin (in some trees south of Louden Lake, near a spring) in time for lunch. Mosquitoes were bad in the basin due to all the water - surely this will change as things dry out. Took a late afternoon walk up Armstrong to the border monument. Met Craig Romano, famed guidebook writer, on top. Day 2. 10.6 miles, +500', -800', total elev.= 1300' Continued in spotless weather on Trail #533 to Sheelite Pass, our intended camp spot, only to discover that the camping really sucks there. Should have stopped on top of the hill before dropping into the pass. (This early in the season water would not have been a problem.) There is a good camp at Teapot Dome, but it's too close to Horseshoe Basin. Went on another few hundred yards from the pass and found a slabby area to camp, with no views and lots of bugs. During the night a rodent ate through most of the waist belt strapping on my pack, and I had to do an emergency sewing repair in the morning. Lesson learned - keep the pack close at night. The repair wasn't pretty, but held up for the next 8 hiking days. Day 3. 8.5 miles, +1300', -600', total elev.= 1900' Mostly sunny day, temps in the 60s. Continued on Trail #533, past the structures at Tungsten Mine, over Apex Pass (a lovely lunch spot), over Cathedral Pass (the most dramatic of the trip), and down to our camp at Upper Cathedral Lake. A few late afternoon clouds dropped a sprinkle or two, but never amounted to much. Spent the evening watching the light change on the cliffs, swatting at bugs, and making friends with the local population (a group of 16 goats who were very interested in us). This area is all it's cracked up to be. Spectacular. Day 4. 11.4 miles, +600', -2900', total elev.= 3500' Another sunny day, temps in the 60s. Opted not to follow Trail #533 as shown on the Green Trails map (past Lower Cathedral Lake, north around knob west of Amphitheater Mtn, etc...) and instead took trail between Amphitheater and said knob to a junction with Trail #565, which then connects with Trail #510 to Spanish Camp. Can't speak for the trail not followed, but our route was beautiful, with awesome views of Remmel Mtn over the high meadowlands. If going this way, make sure you're on the correct path, as there is a parallel path to the east that appears to shortcut with Trail #565 heading SE toward Remmel Creek. Initially we took this path, the first unmarked junction at #533. Advice would be to make sure you've taken the correct turn off of #533 by looking a few hundred yards beyond this first junction. The correct path keeps to the W side of the plateau between Amphitheater and "the knob" (i.e. it hugs close to the "knob"). Upon rejoining Trail #533 at Spanish Creek, the way heads up through more meadows over the NW ridge of Bald Mtn. Trail is a little thin/overgrown on top, but not difficult to follow. Then follows the long descent into the Ashnola River Valley. For some reason there were virtually no mosquitoes down by the River. A welcome reprieve. Good camps on E side of River. The crossing is a log with a single cable, and is intact. Day 5. 10.9 miles, +2750', -1450', total elev.= 4200' Partly cloudy, temps in the 50s-60s. Trail #533 tilts up in trees over the next 3.5 miles toward Peeve Pass. Clouds gathering throughout the day. The open slopes E of the pass are beautiful. Skipped the detour to an old miner's cabin. Our intended spot for the night was Quartz Lake, but when we reached the junction it was still early-ish, and we were feeling good. So, we dropped packs, made the short walk to the lake to have a look-see, then went back to our packs and headed for Dean Creek. The trail side-hills around Quartz Mtn, and as had been typical of this trip from the start, presents amazing high, open meadow country with long views to peaks, ridges, and valleys. The trail became noticeably less traveled beyond the Quartz Lake junction - thin and overgrown in spots, but not too difficult to follow. This part of the trail starts to get into some extensively burned areas - not sure if the Tatoosh fire reached all the way to Quartz Mtn or not. Camps at Dean Creek are on the SE side in partially burned-over areas. Saw our 2nd bear of the trip in the flower meadows near the creek. Clouds threatening, and some rain during the night. Day 6. 9.7 miles, +1050', -3150', total elev.= 4200' Cool and full cloud cover, some sprinkles in the AM. As we walked up through intermittent meadows and trees toward Bunker Hill, an electrical storm started building. We found a semi-protected area in a fringe of trees near the open upper slopes to wait it out. Thunder, lightening, rain, and hail - seemed quite close. Hunkered down and brewed some tea. After waiting 45 minutes or so, the sky lightened up a bit and we decided to make a dash for it. In less than an hour we were at the top, and the cloud ceiling had lifted a bit to allow some views of surrounding peaks. We snapped a few photos, but didn't linger too long in this amazing place. The Forest Service personnel we had spoken with told us that the section of Trail #533 between the top of Bunker Hill and the Pasayten River was not passable - that since the Tatoosh Fire of 2006 the hundreds (maybe thousands) of blow-downs had yet to be cleared, and that if one did manage to get to the River by this route, the bridge had burned or otherwise been destroyed by the fire. So, we headed toward Hidden Lakes via Trail #458, which descends S down a ridge from the top of Bunker Hill to the E Fk Pasayten River. This trail is fine on top - in the open slopes of the ridge - but is difficult to follow once in the trees. There were about 60-80 blow downs in about 3 miles, and the trail disapears / is severely overgrown in places. Definitely passable (on foot), but must constantly pay attention and keep looking ahead. Once down at the E Fork, we took Trail #451 W to Trail #477, which we took SE to a junction with Trail #485 (Tatoosh Buttes). This junction is in between Big Hidden Lake and Middle Hidden Lake, and is extremely easy to miss as it occurs in a very wet, heavily vegetated area. If you get to the stream you've gone too far. (And, of course, if you get to Middle Hidden Lk you've also gone too far...) Made camp at the base of the climb. Not much in the way of tent space, but works in a pinch. Day 7. 11.8 miles, +3100', -3000', total elev.= 6100' Cloudy and cool. The trail (#485) up is mostly good. A few blow downs in the lower section (a dozen or so), but otherwise good. Once over the top, the trail heads one way and the cairns and stakes, taking a higher route, suggest a different way. We followed the cairns, and did fine. Once beyond Tamarack Ridge the full extent of the Tatoosh Fire becomes apparent. The trail stays high for several miles, and too bad it couldn't stay that way, because once it drops off into the Lease Creek Canyon, it gets really crappy. The trail sees minimal use anyway, and since the fire it seems as though the bare minimum has been done to maintain it. It is steep, crumbly, and thin. And when one gets to the flats, it all but disappears. I would not want to go up this way. Crossed Lease Creek on a log jam, crossed the bridge @ Middle Fk Pasayten to Trail #498, crossed the bridge @ W Fk Pasayten, then met up with Trail #478 which took us to the Rock Creek crossing, where we made camp in a great spot on the N side, just over the bridge. Day 8. (4 miles +/- day trip to airstrip) Cloudy and cool. We had not planned on being here this early, and weren't scheduled to meet some friends coming up from Hart's Pass until the following day, so we took that rarest of things, the non-emergency, non-weather-related, non-fatigue-related, unplanned rest day. Did some laundry and washing, made the 4 mile (+/-) RT walk to the FS airstrip (highly recommended) and Soda Creek in the afternoon, ate a bunch of extra food, and played some rummy. Day 9. 6.3 miles, +1650' Sunny in the AM, with thunderheads rapidly building after 10. After meeting up with the rest of our group (we now numbered 7) in the early afternoon, we headed up the Rock Creek Trail (#473). The day before, the backcountry ranger we met told us that this valley may have the highest resident bear concentration in all of the Pasayten. We didn't manage to see any of the animals themselves, but we sure saw a lot of tracks and scat. By 2:30 the thunder was again overhead, with the accompanying rain and hail. Didn't last too long, but all the brush was wet (and there is A LOT of brush on this section) so by the time we arrived at Coney Basin my feet were sloshing around inside my boots - gaiters would have helped. Nice camp spot at Coney Basin, and another about a mile further on at the PCT junction. Day 10. 11.2 miles (?), +2300', -2100', total elev.= 4400' Spotless, sunny, bug-free morning. After leaving Coney Basin, Trail #473 joins the PCT (Trail #2000). The trail goes down in switchbacks before contouring around the head of the Rock Creek Valley and climbing in long switchbacks to Rock Pass. (It looks as though there is a path that stays mostly on contour all the way from the PCT junction to Rock Pass, but as it crosses steep terrain and snow slopes, and we now had some less experienced members of our group to think about, and as some in the group didn't have poles, much less ice axes, we opted to stay on the main trail.) At Rock Pass the world opens up to the west side peaks. Down the other side in open meadows, then trees to Holman Pass (camps, but a hike for water). After climbing out of Holman Pass, we passed one good camp with water before coming up on Shaw Creek, which seemed much closer than the mileage indicated on the map (by as much as 2 miles). We had intended to continue only to Shaw Creek (good camps with water here), but once there decided to continue over Devil's Backbone to Jim Pass / Oregon Basin. As we were unsure of the water situation ahead, we filtered and filled all available containers at Shaw Creek - a good move, it turned out. Camps at Jim Pass / Oregon Basin are wonderful, but dry. Day 11. 5.5 miles, +1000, -400', total elev.= 1400' Sunny and clear. The last bit from Jim Pass / Oregon Basin to Hart's Pass has, I'm sure, been covered many times before, and needs little description. Suffice to say, it is glory-walking at its best. Visibility was excellent - all the peaks were out. In summary, a fantastic trip, and highly recommended for those looking for high, open, dramatic, lonesome country. We went 3 days without seeing another person. We saw only 3 other people in 5 days, and one was a FS ranger. The trail is a bit "sporting" in places, so have a good map and compass and be able to use them. Pay attention to the trail, and where you think a trail "ought to go", as the track disappears in places, there is very little in the way of signage, and it is so little used in places that nature and the after-affects of fire are taking it back. This is all good if you're looking for a bit of solitude and some adventure. Bugs were bad, mostly toward the beginning of the trip. This will change as the season progresses. However, the corollary to this is the availability of water. In most cases this can be managed. We found plentiful water up until we joined the PCT. The burned areas might put some people off, but I found them to be beautiful in their own way. The whole way, especially in the burns, is covered in wildflowers. As for wildlife, there is plenty. In addition to the bears and goats, we saw many signs of deer, elk, and even moose(!!!). The bird life was great as well - thrushes, woodpeckers, bluebirds, hummingbirds, a bald eagle at Cathedral Lake (on July 3rd), and many others. Go now, before the trail gets the attention (and traffic) it deserves by its listing as a National Scenic Trail (the Boundary Trail is coincident with the newly created Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT))! A truly great mid-distance trip.