Squire Creek Pass via Eight-mile Trail, Squire Creek — Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2013

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

Last year's WTA Hike-a-Thon prize winner Ryan Carpenter, WTA regional correspondent Lindsay Leffelman and I took on an end-to-end recognizance of Squire Creek Pass with guidebook author Craig Romano. We dropped a car at the Squire Creek trailhead on FR 2040 and drove through Darrington to the Eightmile Creek trailhead at FR 2060. As far as car shuttles go, this was pretty easy. Both roads are short and in good shape (there was even a fancy convertible sports car at Squire!). The trail to Squire Creek Pass via Eightmile gets right to business, climbing 2350 feet in 2.7 miles. The trail is steep, rough in places, but it wasn't terrible (no blowdowns). There are massive cedars to admire, huckleberries and blueberries to eat, and once near the top, massive granite slick rock to be wowed by. The pass itself is one big slab of granite and lichen, with grand views: Jumbo Peak, Three Fingers, Mount Bullon and Whitehorse Mountains, plus several impressive no-namers, and even a glimpse of Glacier Peak if you stand on your tip-toes or climb up the rock a ways. We broke out some two-bit brownies, Cool Whip and raspberries in celebration and to fuel our bodies for the long downhill trek. After picking abundant blueberries on the west side of the pass, our work began. Because the way up from Squire Creek had been barred for many years due to an unstable rock slide, the trail is a mess. For a good mile or so, we bushwhacked down the slope. The brush was high and tread non-existent in several places as we crossed avalanche chutes, rock slides and creek beds. Cairns were helpful to lead the way, but there were 3 or 4 times we stopped and had to really investigate which way the trail went. At 3.5 miles we reached the end of the original road, which suffered several massive rockslides in 2003. The past decade has turned the last 2.2. miles of the road into a trail again. We had no trouble in this section, but early in the season there are reportedly a few hairy creek crossings. Near the trailhead we were delighted to discover recent work by WTA trail crews. Maybe there is hope for rehabilitating this trail yet. Final assessment: Awesome views and berries! Neither approach is suitable for anyone but strong hikers. The Squire Creek side requires route-finding abilities. Bugs were a non-factor. One-way distance: 8.5 miles Total elevation gain: 2,566 feet