We hiked up to Cutthroat Pass on the PCT and then continued north on the PCT for about 1.6 miles to just above Granite Pass.
GETTING THERE
Access is easy. A short access road leads north from Highway 20 to the trailhead. The unpaved portion has many potholes, but it is short. With care, any car can make it to the trailhead.
Although the Blue Lake fire is still burning, we saw no evidence of fire-fighting activity along the highway, and no sign of trail closures at Blue Lake or Rainy Pass. The online fire closure map still shows the trails south of Highway 20 closed along this section, but cars were parked in the Blue Lake lot when we drove by.
When we arrived at the Cutthroat Pass trailhead at about 10:30, there were 12 cars in the parking lot. We encountered few other hikers along the trail, especially after heading north from the pass.
ON THE TRAIL
The PCT up to Cutthroat Pass is one of the smoothest trails in the region. The grade is easy and the trail is well-maintained. There are some rocky sections, so good hiking footwear is helpful, but it really is an easy walk up to the pass. We were happy to find several clear, running streams crossing the trail at the end of this dry summer. Perhaps these were the aftermath of the recent snowfall and melt.
The first 3.5 miles of the trail climb gently up through lovely, mature forest. You catch the first view of the pass above about 2.5 miles from the trailhead, and a second view at 3 miles. The first larches appear just before the lower camping area, about 3.5 miles from the trailhead. After that, the larches increase in abundance and soon dominate the sparse forest. On the lower slopes the larches are just beginning to turn, but the higher you go, the more have turned to their beautiful autumn yellow. The blueberry bushes are red and purple already, and the azaleas and mountain ashes are orange, so there is plenty of fall color (see photos).
Once at the pass, we turned north and continued along the PCT to the top of Granite Pass. This part of the PCT crosses open scree slopes and is quite rocky, but it is almost level and easy hiking. The views north and east are wonderful. Once we got to the pass, we took a use trail up the small bluff above the trail for a 360-degree view of Tower Peak, the Golden Horn, the Needles, and back around to the PCT going south to Cutthroat Peak (see photos). It was a perfect spot for a late lunch break. We sat for an hour just marveling at the gorgeous, wild country all around us.
All in all, this was a wonderful end-of-summer hike in this gorgeous part of the North Cascades. It is a route that delivers incredible scenery for relatively little effort, and to be able to be there without massive crowds was a rare treat. Continuing along the PCT to Granite Pass made this hike especially memorable. It makes for a longer day hike, but not a difficult one.
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