I was surprised to see the ridiculous attempt to shut down "our" park by the incompetents in the other Washington; yellow flagging tape and a "closed" sign. Being the good citizen we passed all the North Cascade National Park closures and drove all the way to the Easy Pass trail head. After a short bush whack past a flooded trail we headed up. This has to be the best year for mushrooms in many a decade. Light snow was encountered at 4600'. The trail is still very easy to follow even though the snow depth neared two feet by 5500'. It really does not merit snowshoes yet. We arrived at the pass in an easy 2 1/2 hours to find fairly mundane colors in most larches. The views were superb. On the way down we encountered two other parties very appreciative for our having broke trail through the snow all the way to the top. Another perfect day in the mountains.

Lovely fall equinox return to this favorite N. Cascades spot Some blow down across the trail in the forest... I think I counted 16 trees you have to climb over, under, or around... but they are all quite manageable. Could be more of a bummer with a big pack, though. Mushrooms everywhere!!!! Holy mushrooms! If you're into fungus, go now. You won't be disappointed. Unreal. Upper trail in good shape... although the talus slope crossing under the pass was much sketchier than I'd remembered. Poles definitely recommended. It's dry up there now... so no snow or ice to manage, just scree that wants to slide/give way and a few deep wash outs happening... that you have to get across. Take your time, step with care, you'll be fine. The larches at the pass are not yellow yet. Couple weeks out, I'd guess. Blueberry ground cover is turning red.... super lovely. Some ripe berries left, too. Marmots, pica, and grouse (or partridge?) up high. There is good water up fairly high, too, if you want to go light and pump. Enjoy!

Perhaps due to the recent storm mentioned in previous posts, this hike was challenging even beyond the usual "Easy Pass is not easy!" warning in the guidebook. The first half of the trail is a gradual ascent through forest to the meadow. It's pleasant but is marred by 14 blowdowns across the trail! Prepare to get your knees, hands and/or rear dirty as you scramble under several of them on ground that is damp if not muddy. The second half of the trail is where the real challenge begins as the switchbacks seem to get steeper the higher you go. Part way up there's an excellent "lunch rock" overlooking the valley, which makes a great turnaround point if you don't want to overdo it. Otherwise, be warned - the switchbacks cross a big washout gully 4x, and the crossings did make us nervous although they're negotiable with care. You can scramble up the left side of the valley to avoid them - we did that going up although we stayed on the trail going down. We adhered to our motto for this trail: "easy does it". :-) At the top, the spectacular view of Mt. Logan and other peaks always makes a climb like this worth it. Wildflowers are almost done, huckleberries just beginning to ripen. We saw many types of mushrooms on the trail. A surprising amount of annoying flies are still around. This trail needs maintenance - when's the next WTA work party?

Dangerous Trail! There was a lot of loose rock on this trail, especially in the last mile. It was scary going up but frightening going down. The views from the top were nice but not nice enough to risk death. I do not recommend this hike.

Here is another perspective on the hike done the very same day as the previous post. In fact, we saw the author and her group as they made their way down the rocky section. The recent storms have created washouts on the rocky section of trail so that where there was a narrow trail through small to medium-sized rocks, there are now a few areas of loose rocks. However, if you are sure-footed and careful, the area should pose little problem for you. You may slide a bit on the rock, but not so much that you will feel in danger. The views from the Pass to Fisher Basin and Creek, Mt Arriva and Mt Logan are certainly worth it!