Cutthroat Pass via Cutthroat Lake — Tuesday, Sep. 2, 2008

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20

This is one of the Northwest's best, in my humble opinion. It's an easy one-night backpack trip or a nice, long point-to-point day hike. My friend and I did it as a one-nighter over at the pass. We were dropped off at Rainy Pass and picked up the next day at Cutthroat Lake trailhead. Total mileage is 11 miles, and hiking in from Rainy Pass, the elevation gain is around 2000 feet to Cutthroat Pass. I suppose I don't have too much more to add that hasn't already been reported about this trip, but there were a few seasonal notes I wanted to pass along. First--and some would say most importantly--there were no pesky, flying insects present. None. This made the trip so much more enjoyable. Also, our weather was decent. Our first day was on the cool side with some dark, heavy clouds pushing up from the west. However, at Cutthroat Pass, these clouds seemed to disappear as they moved east. The winds were quite brisk at the pass and it made for some unpleasant dinner preparation out on the rocks at the pass. So, into the tent we went immediately after finishing dinner; no lingering to enjoy the alpenglow and potential stars. The next morning after clouds had cleared and the wind had died down, we woke up to a frosty scene, along with a beautiful clear sky with amazing mountain views in all directions. Surprisingly, there were a number of flowers still hanging on. Good late season flowers...gentian, asters, pearly everlasting and fireweed, among others. No bears, elk or goats to report from this trip...but, pikas, marmots and squirrels. With all the Lyall larch trees along this hike, this would be a nice trip for some spectacular fall color in about three to four weeks. Some color is starting to inch into the scene. Huckleberries are turning color and some vine maples are starting to show their fall colors too. Interestingly, we saw very few berries on the huckleberry bushes, green or otherwise. Is this something isolated to this area, or more widespread in the Cascades? What will the bears and other wildlife do this fall? Finally, I do have to say that I was taken with all the mountains and the geology of this area. It's gorgeous. It's also a nice area to study weather and climate with this area sitting squarely on the Cascade crest. So, as I returned home from this trip, I picked up my copy of Washington Trails in the mailbox and on the cover was the Golden Horn! What a welcome sight; a great way to re-live my trip and learn more about a fascinating area of our state!