Cathedral Pass Loop — Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016

North Cascades > Pasayten

What an incredible hike! I can't believe more people are not up in this area. Did 6 days, 5 nights. Day 1: Hiked through the fire scorn valley of the Chewuch River from Thirtymile Trailhead. Be sure to fill up with at least 2 liters of water before the hike. It's a HOT hike with little water until Windy Creek, about 5.5 miles from the trail head. TONS of Raspberries, Thimbleberries, and Blueberries that are ripe all along the trail along the river! Some muddy spots on the trail. Zero bug issues until the fork at Tungsten trail. Camped just beyond the fork at Tungsten. Day 2: Hiked all the way to Upper Cathedral Lake. Quite the elevation gain from where we camped, but it was worth it. Weather was beautiful. Trail was in good shape. Mosquitoes began to appear much more as we gained in elevation past Remmel Lake. Camped at Upper Cathedral Lake. Mosquitoes were super bad at the lake. Day 3: Recovered from our hike the day before and just hung out around the lake. Bugs were bad in the morning. Several mountain goats made a visit to our camp periodically throughout the day. The fishing at the lake is incredible. Tons of fish! Fly fishing is great too! Camped at the same spot Day 4: Did a little scouting over cathedral pass to see how our water situation was looking. Between Cathedral Pass and Apex pass, there is a few places to fill up, unlike other years where it's bone dry. Came back and hiked up on top of the little butte (I think it's about 8,100 ft elevation) below Cathedral Peak (8,601 ft). Well worth the side trip up there - you can see the clear cut line the marks the international border, north cascades national park, and Mt Baker in the distance. Day 5: Left Upper Cathedral and hiked all the way back to the fork at Tungsten/Chewuch Trail #510. Stopped at the old Wolframite/Tungsten mine - really cool, kinda creepy on the inside of the old buildings. I'd stay in there only if there was a major storm. Bugs were not bad at all after Upper Cathedral lake. Camped just below the fork at established campsites. Day 6: Hike back to the car at the start of the trailhead. Conditions were the same as the first day. I cannot stress enough to make sure you have enough water after Windy Creek. The trail mostly stays above the river after that point.