It is 10:00 pm on Monday and we are both really tired but we just can not seem to let the day end. We had an indescribably beautiful day hiking Cascade Pass. The ranger recommended it and we had read on-line that if you have time for only one hike in North Cascade, this is the one you should do. The reviews were overwhelmingly positive. One said, “don’t be discouraged by the road to the trail head” which turned out to be one lane, narrow and steep, gravel and eventually dirt. One said, “if you don’t hike at all, the views from the trailhead are unbelievable.” And so, they were:

Disclaimer: The pictures will not do it justice, especially since I kept bumping the settings during the hike. Richard will have to give me some hiking with your camera pointers.
We made sure we were packed up for 5 hours or so of hiking and started up. It was a 3.7 mile hike each way and I swear to you that the first 2.5 were straight up. I struggled the first 30 minutes or so mainly because I am still not in the shape I should be. It was hard to tell if I was dripping sweat or just dripping because it is so humid here. Early in the hike, we were in the rainforest and everything had moss on it.

Kim suggested we not rest too long for fear it would begin to grow on us. The beginning of the trail is extremely dark rainforest which changes to mountain meadow, boulder field and finally the summit.
We saw little wildlife on this hike. I thought I heard a bear at one point. I heard this heavy breathing. Not merely panting but a more guttural, low groaning sound like a being in severe distress. It scared the @*&#*$ out of me and I actually thought about running away from it. Then I realized the sound was in fact coming from me as I was trying to haul my happy tush 3.7 miles straight up the mountain.
As we progressed higher and higher, we kept getting better views of the surrounding glaciers. They started out above us, then as we climbed they were across from us and eventually below us:




We got to the top in about 2 hours but we would have done it sooner if I hadn’t had to stop constantly for pictures.

The view from the Summit:

We had lunch at the summit and met some nice folks from Phoenix and saw quite a few rock climbers and overnight backpackers. Headed down:

Four and a half hours later, back at the trailhead…yippee.

We had the most perfect of days and we just can’t stop smiling at what we were able to experience. I wish I could describe it and do it justice. Kim likes to say “use your words” so let me give it a try.
It was one of the most beautiful, unbelievable, exquisite, miraculous, abundant, breathtaking, awe-inspiring, wonderful, incredible, stunning, awesome, resplendent, dazzling, lovely (as my Aunt Harriet would have said), moss-covered, mushroom-filled, waterfall-laden, glacier-packed places I have seen. And even those words don’t begin to do it justice. The words I think fit it most are magnificent, sacred and spiritual. What a gift this place and this day has been!