Squire Creek Pass via Eight-mile Trail — Thursday, Apr. 16, 2015

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

Road was rocky, but nothing requiring 4wd or high clearance. Past the trailhead, it gets rough. I drove down it for a ways to explore while I was waiting for my buddy to meet me. Chose this one because it seemed like despite the iffy avalanche forecast, we wouldn't have much to worry about since it was either forested or flat. The trail isn't too steep, besides the middle section. Very rocky and rooty and you need to watch where you step, especially on the way down. Poles were helpful. Should have brought snowshoes instead of microspikes. The spikes never left my bag, as we postholed and trudged through 2' of snow. We did lose the summer trail eventually, but whipped out maps and still found our way to the pass. The views are great in every direction once the trees are sparse and the terrain flattens out, so you can't really go wrong. Ignoring the fact we were slogging through snowdrifts anywhere between 12" and 30" it wasn't bad. We went about a mile an hour once we hit the deeper snow, between hiking through it (small tree wells and hidden creeks) and stopping once in a while to make sure we were still on track for the pass. It was a long 5.4 mile hike. Views from the pass are great. You look straight at Three Fingers and Whitehorse, with White Chuck behind you. Sunrise is probably ridiculous there, since I bet it lights up Three Fingers and Whitehorse with pink light every morning. I played one of my personal favorites, "aircraft or avalanche." Self explanatory. You hear a rumble. Avalanche, aircraft, what? Look around. We heard four small avalanches, all on Three Fingers. We followed our own trail out. It's easier when you expect the postholing and it's not a surprise with each step. I can see why the area is popular with rock climbers, too - there were some great rock faces to climb.

More Information on this Trip Report

• https://havetent.wordpress.com/2015/04/21/eight-milesquire-creek-pass/