Washington - Stehekin to Mazama

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 I reached Stehekin just as my food ran out. I had planned to supplement my resupply box with snacks from the lodge at Stevens Pass, but that was closed. The famous Stehekin Bakery couldn’t come soon enough!


After an amazing breakfast I picked up my next supply box at the local post office. Many hikers were giving away part of their food as they planned to take the ferry to Chelan or just hike to Hwy 20 and hitch a ride to Seattle or Mazama and I was able to get the additional meals I needed for my planned alternative route to the border.

As if I needed more signs that winter was coming…

There was no cell service in Stehekin and I anxiously waited for the National Parks office to open, so I could get updates on the fires. When they finally opened at noon, the news wasn’t good. Fires in the North Cascades National Park and the Pasayten Wilderness had grown and the alternative trails I wanted to take were all closed now. I would have to venture much further east to be able to safely reach the border. I never hiked the eastern Pasayten Wilderness and was curious about the area, so this didn’t deter me at all. It was just adding four or five days to my hike and would probably be a bit lonely as I didn’t expect many hikers to join me.

I had a nice dinner at the Stehekin Valley Ranch and camped nearby, ready to continue the next morning.


It's nice to have a bridge!

The North Cascades National Park begins just a few miles outside of Stehekin. The trail follows beautiful Stehekin River and then Bridge Creek.



It started raining right after I left the Stehekin area and I counted four thunderstorms in the following three days. The rain took down the wildfire smoke and the low hanging clouds made for dramatic views.


Near Rainy Pass

There was an alternate monument on Hwy 20 at Rainy Pass where many hikers left the trail, but this was not the end of my journey.


This monument lost even more weight than I did...

The clouds thickened even more on the north side of the pass and I hiked in rainy fog for the remainder of the day.


Abundant Water

Cloudy Trail

As another thunderstorm was brewing, I decided to make camp a few miles south of Cutthroat Pass at lower elevation. This turned out to be a good decision as I was able to set up camp just before thunder and lightning started and the rain became stronger. The storm raged on until about midnight.

There was no rain in the morning and the views were unobstructed by clouds when I hiked up to the next pass.


View from Cutthroat Pass

It wasn't far to Harts Pass now where I had to exit the trail due to the wildfire closure. The forest service employees had added a Canadian and a US flag to the trail register and left a nice note that they were sorry we had to leave the trail. 


Of course I had to leave too and made my way to the small town of Mazama where I had a celebratory beer. I had made it within 27 miles of the border. I could have just ended it here. I had nothing more to prove to myself. 

Except, I simply couldn’t. I was determined to continue my hike on an alternative route until I reached Canada. So I topped off my supplies at the local store, said goodby to a few more hikers, put on my pack and headed east.




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