Chewuch River Trail, Boundary Trail - Pasayten, Windy Peak & Basin Creek — Saturday, Jun. 14, 2014

North Cascades > Pasayten

Large lollipop route from Thirtymile up Chewuch, Boundary Trail from Cathedral to Horseshoe Basin, and some cross country miles and the Basin Creek trail back to Chewuch. Chewuch River: majority of the blowdowns are in the first six miles, with a handful of climb-overs. Mostly clear past Tungsten Creek junction. Consistent snow from Remmel Lake north, up to four feet; we often postholed up to our thighs in the deep areas. Boundary Trail: significant snow around Cathedral Peak/lakes, and at most shaded areas all the way through Horseshoe Basin. Very few blowdowns and overall in good shape, though hard to follow through snowy areas. Basin Creek: snow at the junction with Windy Peak/Creek trail. We got lost and decided going cross country down Basin Creek to rejoin the trail below the SW ridge of Topaz Mountain was the best option. It actually worked out very well, and we hit the trail with a couple of miles of descending left to rejoin the Chewuch River trail. Given the recent fire, the upper part of the trail over Topaz probably is worse than the actual basin we followed. Full trip report and photo set: http://seekingultra.blogspot.com/2014/06/pasayten-wilderness.html