Ahead of the Forest Fires - Windy Pass, 7.11.21 - 7.13.21
With two major backpack trips rapidly approaching on my docket, getting out for a training trip to give those muscles a good stretch was essential. A plan was hatched for Bridgit and I to return to a place we had been to fourteen years ago, only this time we would be joined by our friends Greg and Cindy. We were two days ahead of our target date for leaving when the CPVC piping in our home decided it was time to fail. By the time half the walls in our laundry room and kitchen were cut out and the kitchen counter removed and plunked into our living room we had to postpone our plan. The house is still torn up but with the initial leak shorn up, this last Sunday looked good to try again. Unfortunately, Bridgit is now back east visiting family so Greg, Cindy and I left early Sunday morning. With a forecast that called for clear skies, sunny weather and perfect temps, we were excited to get some dust on our boots.
Our destination was called (well, it still is) Windy Pass. It is located on the Pacific Crest Trail only about thirty miles from the Canadian border. We drove east on Highway 20 over the North Cascades Highway which is one of the prettier drives you will ever take. Up and over Washington Pass we saw an ominous plume of smoke that was clearly a wildfire. Never a good thing to see, especially when it is in the vicinity of where you will be hiking into the back country with no means of communication or news. Turning off at the quaint little town of Mazama, complete with a stop for one of their breakfast bagels we headed up the highest road in the state to the first switchback beyond Hart’s Pass and a trailhead for the PCT northbound.
Greg and Cindy at the PCT trailhead
Most hikes tend to go uphill but this journey actually loses about 600’ of elevation as it gently descends four miles to Windy Pass. It begins by passing underneath the lookout atop Slate Peak, a great destination for those who aren’t inclined to hike. The trail is all completely out in the open with spectacular views the entire way. Despite the sky ahead of us being crystal clear, like a bad omen, looking back beyond where we started we could see the fire smoke was increasing.
The PCT underneath Slate Peak lookout
Expansive green meadows and big peaks all along the way
Never a good thing to see
Rounding a corner by the incredibly lovely Benson Basin we could now see Tamarack Peak. Windy Pass is situated just north of this peak. In the photo, you can see a yurt in the meadow below Tamarack Peak. This is called The Barron Yurt and it is owned by North Cascades Heli, a ski touring company that flies people to the top of Tamarack for untracked powder runs with a cozy spot to stay overnight at the base.
7,290’ Tamarack Peak and the Barron Yurt
Four miles of easy downhill trail goes by quickly and we arrived at Windy Pass mid-day. No one was camped there so we had our pick of where to set up shop and we quickly set up camp with the whole afternoon to play. We had a spring right by the camp to filter water and soon it was time to go exploring. Beyond the Barron Yurt were the remains of the old Barron Mine so we decided to head in that direction to see what we could see. Following an old abandoned road bed we first came to the Barron Yurt. The old mining road then climbed up the side of the hill beyond several mine tailings. Views became more expansive the higher we climbed on the road. Beyond the shoulder of the mountain we climbed to a prominent ridge top with 360 degree views. We were able to identify dozens of peaks and for the ones we weren’t sure of we have a really nifty app called Peakfinder that will label any peak you point it at.
Aside from cool peaks in every direction, we could also see lush green meadows on the ridge top south of our position. It was still only 3:30PM so we dropped off of our perch and followed the ridge south until we arrived at an amazingly gorgeous meadowed ridge completely awash in brilliant orange color from millions of bright orange Indian Paintbrush that carpeted the meadows along the ridge. Walking along this ridge was absolutely sublime. We followed it a long way over to the end of the ridge at Point 6,770’ where we found ourselves just across the valley from Mt. Ballard.
One of the giants of the North Cascades - 9,075’ Jack Mountain
From left to right - Tower Mountain, The Golden Horn, Azurite Peak and Mt Ballard
Looking northwest across the ridge we had just traversed
It was especially cool to see a lot of these peaks to the southeast as we had immersed ourselves amongst many of them on a forty five mile backpack trip some years ago with Bridgit, Andrew, Josiah and Neighbor Greg, better known as Team Pack It Or Go Without it. On our way back to camp we stopped by to check out the remains of the old Barron Mine itself. There were various artifacts and even a bit of railroad track for the ore cars.
The Barron Mine
For the non-backpacker, one of the main goals is to figure out how to carry everything you need to sustain your life on your back inside a ridiculously tiny pack. While it would be nice to cook up some Cornish game hens in a dutch oven deep in the back country, it wouldn’t be my first choice to throw into my pack before a trip. We backpackers are constantly looking for ways to not only lighten our load but to figure out how to cram a week’s worth of stuff into a tiny sack on your back. For years now I have carried a cook pot that is very light titanium, but it is quite bulky and takes up a decent amount of space in my pack. This trip was a test for a new piece of gear that I got for Father’s Day. Made by Sea To Summit, it is a set with two rubber collapsible cups and one collapsible rubber pot complete with a lid. The bottom of the pot is metal. The trick is make sure your stove flame is low enough that flames don’t come up over the side and melt the rubber on the pot. But the coolest thing is that the whole set is designed to collapse and be stored into one tiny kit and I have to say it passed with flying colors on this trip!
My new cook kit. I use one cup for hot chocolate and coffee, another cup as a bowl for oatmeal and the pot for boiling water.
The kit in storage mode. How cool is that?
After dinner we wandered up the trail to an opening with stellar views of Mt Ballard. In the setting sun it wasn’t hard to see that the skies were getting increasingly hazy from the fire smoke. We weren’t concerned about getting caught in the fire but our views for the remainder of the trip would deteriorate so we were extremely grateful for the great views on our first day.
Mt Ballard at sunset with fire smoke beginning to affect views.
The following morning we were up at dawn and despite a hint of smoke in the air we got some nice sunrise photos of Mt Ballard.
Sunrise on Mt Ballard
Mt Ballard sunrise
After sunrise photos and breakfast it was time for more adventure so we headed out of camp to go climb Tamarack Peak. First we stopped by a nice creek to fill up on water. From the creek an open meadow led up onto the upper slopes of the basin below Tamarack Peak. We basically just headed straight up through these lush meadows aiming for a low point on the north ridge.
Greg filling his gravity filter bag with water
Once we hit the ridge proper we simply followed it south to the summit for a short, easy climb to a great vantage point.
Greg climbing the north ridge of Tamarack Peak
Obligatory summit shot
After a relaxing stay on the summit identifying peaks and trying to figure out the route the PCT takes to the border we decided to make things more interesting by dropping off the south ridge to eventually connect back to the mining road that would lead us back to camp.
Me descending the south ridge of Tamarack Peak
The downside of our journey was that the smoke got increasingly thicker as the day progressed. Back at camp we had a completely un-forecasted rain shower complete with a bit of hail that luckily only lasted about an hour. Right after dinner our peaceful little slice of tranquility was over when a party of twelve from Outward Bound arrived. Since the camping area at Windy Pass isn’t that big they set up shop right next to us so any illusion of being alone in the wilderness was completely shattered. In truth it wasn’t that big of a deal since we were planning to leave in the morning anyway and we had completed what we came to do.
On our last day (yesterday) it was really getting smoky and we heard from other hikers that it was actually three dry lightning sparked fires all fairly close to one another. Due to their proximity to Highway 20, the North Cascades Highway was now closed so we had to take the long way home (just like Supertramp) down Highway 97 through Winthrop and Twisp to the Columbia River and back over Highway 2 and Stevens Pass.
Another thing you non-backpackers may not be aware of is that it is genetically impossible during a pack out day not to fantasize about what kind of food you will eat once you get back into civilization. Our fantasies took us to Mi Tierra in Monroe for Margaritas and a scrumptious Mexican meal before the final leg home. Cindy and Greg were great hiking partners and a good time was had by one and all!