Best Easy Day Hikes North Cascades by Erik Molvar

Author:Erik Molvar
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Falcon Guides
Published: 2019-11-22T00:00:00+00:00

To the north of Rainy Pass is the Pasayten Wilderness, a vast sea of sedimentary peaks. It has a more continental climate than is found to the west of the divide, with hotter summers and colder, drier winters. Lowland forests are typically dominated by Douglas fir, with dense stands of lodge-pole pine or open savannas of ponderosa pine in drier areas where wildfires are a dominant force in shaping the landscape. Near the timberline, Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir are the dominant trees, while whitebark pine is prevalent in arid areas. Stands of subalpine larch can be found in some of the highest and most windswept locales. The alpine meadows above the treeline are typified by a greater number of grasses and fewer flowering plants than are found farther west, although there can be stunning displays of wildflowers in locales that receive plenty of moisture.

Rainy Pass can be reached easily via the North Cascades Highway (WA 20). Services near Rainy Pass are nonexistent: the nearest place to get gas and supplies is Mazama, down on the Methow River. It is 11 miles farther east to Winthrop, the first real town. Traveling west from Rainy Pass, it is 38 miles to the company store at Newhalem and an additional 13 miles to Marblemount for gas and groceries. Forest Service campgrounds on WA 20 can be found 6 miles east of Washington Pass, and westbound travelers will have to drive 27 miles from Rainy Pass to reach Colonial Campground, which is run by the Park Service. For more information, stop in at the Forest Service visitor center in Winthrop.

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