Kangaroo Pass — Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021

Bottom Line: 1800' of larch-laden rocky slopes for your enjoyment, minutes from  the crowds at Blue Lake, Heather-Maple Pass, and Cutthroat. Larches are mostly past peak now, but the trail was stunning nevertheless.

Stats

• Distance: 6.91 miles
• Vertical: 1834 feet
• Duration: 5 hours
• Weather: Mostly cloudy with sunny periods, and mixed larch needle and snow showers
• Takeaway: A beautiful larch hike from top to bottom with some route finding on the lower trail, and a little bit of minor scrambling. This is a hidden gem with few people while close-by trails were very crowded

We based ourselves in Winthrop, camping at the Pearrygin Lake campground with its stunning lakeside oak trees in their full fall glory. This is a perfect launching point for North Cascades Hwy east-side fall hiking, with Washington Pass just over 30 minutes away. We got to sleep in!

We made the short drive West on Hwy 20 intending to hike Cutthroat Pass. Parking was a zoo at Blue Lake (yikes... small lake), and the cross-highway trailheads of Cutthroat and Heather-Maple passes. There are lots of trails around. I am posting this hike in part because we need to spread out a bit (and this is a pretty durable trail). There was also fog, a cold wind, and snow showers.

Having just come from the East, we knew it was partly sunny just down the road (and much warmer), and decided to try out Kangaroo Pass, whose "trail head" is tucked behind the pullout on the hairpin corner just east of Washington Pass. On this corner the mountains (Kangaroo Ridge in particular to the south) wrap around you creating an inviting basin, larches from the roadside, up the slope and as far as the eye can see casting a yellow and orange glow. There is parking for about 10 cars (it honestly just looks like just a pullout), although there are other Hwy 20 pullouts nearby. Only a handful of cars when we arrived - pay dirt!

This is not much of a trailhead. There is no signage, and you would be forgiven thinking there is really no trail here. This is a good thing if you are looking for a quiet trail. The contrast between this trail, and the crowds mere minutes up Hwy 20 was a little startling (and a relief considering we had planned our trip around hiking in this area). We probably saw 10 people total all day... all with big smiles on their faces.

There is a NFS sign with a fire closure map - no worries, you are good on this trail. At the start, there is only a faint trail (I was honestly not sure there even was a trail), but the trail grows progressively more distinct at you head up to the pass. A registration box about 1/4 mile up reassures one that you are headed in the right direction. The lower part of this trail does require some route-finding, with rocky slopes and bouldering fields marked pretty reliably with cairns to guide you. The upper part of the trail near the pass is quite steep at times. I would recommend poles!

While the hike is on the short side - 7 miles and 1800' - the rough terrain and the stunning views definitely slow you down. The larches start right at Hwy 20 and continue 1800' up to the pass. How many trails are like that?! Glorious! The trail was mostly frozen heading up with good traction, but thawed a bit on the way down making for a little mud and slippery conditions for the short steeper sections.

You crest a ridge thinking you might be at the pass to find instead a small tarn, and another (steeper slope) indicating you have more work to do. This area is beautiful - we lingered for awhile. The final ascent up to the pass is the steeper part of the trail. Views of frozen waterfalls, larches, the emerald tarn below, and some seriously old larches are enchanting. Upon cresting the ridge, you reach Kangaroo Pass, with stunning larch-filled views to the southwest toward Abernathy peak (see video).

The trail continues both south and north on the ridge and we explored both. To the south, are the granite domes of Kangaroo Temple. Is this Yosemite?! Miles of trail heading out in this direction. To the north, one can scramble up the ridge quite a ways before realizing that this is rock fall country (hearing lots of it at this point) and that a helmet is in order to continue.

The larches on this hike were mixed, some past peak, others still with significant green. Some trees were past near the bottom, having lost all of their needles, while at the same time green/yellow at the top! There was a mix of western and alpine larches. The falling needles mixed with the snow showers throughout the day, and created a golden carpet in sections of the trail. 

We are very happy that we bailed on the crowds and tried this new trail. This is a great trail!! We will be back to hike to Kangaroo Temple.