We parked at the Eldorado trailhead (road is closed above Eldorado parking area) and hiked up to the Cascade Pass trailhead. We brought our dog along - note that dogs are only allowed on roads and parking areas within the North Cascades NP, not on trails. We did not go up the trail.
Road is snow free until about 0.1 miles from the trailhead, with 2-6 ft of snow on the road at this point.
There are also 2 trees across.
None of this matters, though, as Boston Creek caused a MAJOR washout this past winter. It looks way more extensive (and thus expensive) than the washout 2 years ago.
The entire box culvert is filled with boulders. The creek spilled over the roadway and severely undermined it. On the near side a 15 ft wide and up to 6 ft deep section of the road is washed out.
Just above the washout we ran into 3 NPS rangers and they said they have no idea when the road will open this year, or how they intend to do the repair. "That's up to the higher-ups."
The paved road just above the Boston Basin trail also suffered extensive damage as the result of a clogged culvert and water rushing down the road.
So 6 bonus miles (round trip) until further notice.
On a positive note, the trailhead bathrooms are unlocked and still had (some) TP left.
Bonus: saw an avalanche come off Johannesburg mountain.
The rangers told us another ranger had attempted to hike to Cascade Pass earlier in the week but turned around due to high avalanche risk.
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