Took a four day backpacking trip on the Cathedral Pass Loop from the Cathedral Drive TH with stops at Saddle Mountain, Apex Mountain, Upper Cathedral Lake, Cathedral Peak, Amphitheater Mountain, Four Point Lake, and Remmel Mountain. Our first day was a bit of a bushwack as we decided to go off-trail and hike the ridge from Saddle Mountain to Apex. Not recommended. But camping at Apex summit is recommended. The next day we went to Upper Cathedral Lake and summitted Cathedral Peak. Day three was a 17 mile day with summits of Amphiteater and Remmel. Day 4 we hiked out.
For more details, see my NWHikers post linked below.
Comments
CiamS on Boundary Trail - Pasayten, Coleman Ridge, Remmel Mountain, Chewuch River Trail, Cathedral Pass Loop
Spectacular captures! Thanks for sharing. I'm sold on this hike completely.
Posted by:
CiamS on Jul 31, 2017 07:28 AM
surrational on Boundary Trail - Pasayten, Coleman Ridge, Remmel Mountain, Chewuch River Trail, Cathedral Pass Loop
The draw for places like these is the isolation, but at the current rate of online overexposure, that is not going to exist anymore. Sad.
Posted by:
surrational on Mar 06, 2018 09:48 AM
BradGeyer on Boundary Trail - Pasayten, Coleman Ridge, Remmel Mountain, Chewuch River Trail, Cathedral Pass Loop
The draw for places like this is the beauty; the isolation is merely a byproduct of it not being as close to a population center. Does the isolation make it more enjoyable? Sure, but there will, for the foreseeable future, always be places to find isolation in the Cascades if you're willing to work for it.
Not trying to be accusatory, but comments like yours are often rooted in a sense of privilege in finding a place "first" or "before it was popoular", but these are public lands and everyone should have the freedom to explore with their own eyes. What makes any one more worthy to explore a location than anyone else?
The only reason I see not to share would be because some people can be disrespectful to the environment by leaving a trace, but they can be educated. Most people willing to go far enough to travel the Pasayten are not that group of people, and I hope that does not change anytime soon.
Posted by:
BradGeyer on Mar 06, 2018 10:27 AM
surrational on Boundary Trail - Pasayten, Coleman Ridge, Remmel Mountain, Chewuch River Trail, Cathedral Pass Loop
It has nothing to do with "privilege", but that's a good use of ad hominem. Look, I can make all kinds of assumptions about you and use them in a personal attack, but I won't do that. In fact, I will assume that you care about the places you visit. But I think you're shooting yourself in the foot.
How do you know who is reading your posts, and whether they will be respectful or not? Obviously, you don't, right? No one is being educated by pretty pics that say "go here" without any kind of responsible message attached. That's the entire problem with the way social media and sites like this are being used. I would assume that you understand how advertising works, but somehow you seem to be implying that it doesn't apply here. Are you also missing the connection between isolation and beauty?
As for some spots being too far away, well you can simply take note of the overall dramatic increase in postings and trip reports to prove that to be wrong. I'm all for people exploring and seeing "with their own eyes", as you put it, instead of just trying to copy someone else's pre-packaged experience. The less work they are willing to put into planning their next instagram adventure, the less they will appreciate it, and the less effort they will put into leaving things the way they found them. So, why feed into that if we don't have to?
Posted by:
surrational on Mar 06, 2018 08:56 PM
BradGeyer on Boundary Trail - Pasayten, Coleman Ridge, Remmel Mountain, Chewuch River Trail, Cathedral Pass Loop
The biggest difference here is that you look at it as "how do you know they will be respectful" whereas I look at it as "how do you know they won't be respectful". Yes, it is a form of advertising. I found out about this trail through WTA because it was "advertised" and I hope that other people can find out about it through my TR.
I'm not shooting myself in the foot; we just have two entirely different views on the matter. I will concede that planning is half the fun and contributes to one's appreciation. And yes there is compromise when it comes to spreading the word of a location, but it also means that we need to do a better job to spread the message of LNT and even pick up after others. It's something I think about a lot but it isn't going away.
Also, since you got caught up on the word privilege (which has been a very politicized word lately), I thought I'd just clear that up by saying it doesn't always implicate an ad hominem attack; one of its definitions is "something regarded as a rare opportunity and bringing particular pleasure," which was my intent...
Posted by:
BradGeyer on Mar 06, 2018 09:46 PM
sm1984 on Boundary Trail - Pasayten, Coleman Ridge, Remmel Mountain, Chewuch River Trail, Cathedral Pass Loop
It looks like a wonderful hike. This is an area that I am not overly familiar with (I have only hiked Mt. Robinson in the near vicinity) and it seems amazing. I hope to check it out in the near future.
Posted by:
sm1984 on May 14, 2018 07:28 PM