Squire Creek Pass via Eight-mile Trail — Thursday, Jun. 20, 2002

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

Glad to be spending time with Cap'n Calm on this incredible first day of summer. Overcoming injury for my first outing this year. This is the only sensible way to the Squire Creek Pass area since landslides wiped out access from RD#2040. There is no trail sign, only a wide spot in the road. This trail has had some amazing maintenance for the first time since I tried it five years ago. WTA and the USFS should be applauded. Perhaps we need to encourge them to finish the trail to the pass. The first 1000' are steep but clean. Then the fun begins. Be ready for bushes, windfall, mud, routefinding, more bushes and plenty of snow above 3400'. Blazes on trees are helpful, wands would have been better. At some point we just headed straight towards the mighty and feared Point 4879. I think we took the steepest route up, maybe to 50 degrees. Great views of Dakobed and Koma Kulshan, with the Three Fingers-Whitehorse massif right in my face. Plenty of slabs to play on. 7 miles R/T, 3000' gain, almost six hours away from the car.
[Online Editor's note: Much of the work was done by the Access Fund with support from WTA and the USFS. You can be certain we will be working on it more in the future.]