A Tale of Two Trails

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"... if you are a Charles Dickens fan, you'll recognize that as the opening line of "A Tale of Two Cities." But it's not a fitting start to this post, because my tale of two trails only includes the best of times. 

The hiking community has been so good to me. I've connected with the most wonderful people. It really does amaze me, and I could fill this whole page with sappy words of heartfelt gratitude. But I don't want to get all mushy on you, so I'm going to keep this super short and sweet. 

Goofy pics are a must!!

Being lucky enough to have a cabin on Baker Lake Road loaned to us for the weekend, we assembled a girl's getaway plan. Being unlucky enough to have half of our crew nursing injures of various kinds, our plan of hiking Anderson/Watson went out the window.  However, you can't keep hiking girls down! So we improvised and hobbled our way through the half mile interpretative "Shadow of the Sentinels" trail that was just up the road. 

Must take goofy pics everywhere we go! This is the boat launch at Baker Lake

After an amazing night of laughter and "song" (the usual bad singing and ukulele performance you'll get after I've had a few drinks) we awoke to a crystal clear day. Unfortunately though, the girls all had to head home. I left to do the same; but how could I take a right turn on Hwy 20 towards home, when there was still enough daylight to turn left towards more hiking?  

Cascade Pass has been on my list ever since I've had a list. I had been saving it for the perfect trip...maybe to Stehekin...or at least Sahale Arm. But that darn forest road! Every year it seems to wash out - so the perfect trip never happened. Back at the cabin as we were reminiscing about hikes on our girl's getaway,  I was informed that the road had just been fixed once again. So instead of doing Sauk Mountain for the fourth time, I decided to keep on going and finally mark Cascade Pass off the list. I'll end with my "things to know" list below, but if you don't read on please at least know this: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DRIVE A MASSIVE MOTOR HOME UP THIS CRAZY ASS FOREST ROAD! (Thank God I got around him before the road gets REALLY thin...but OMG, I can't even imagine the shit storm he created for the masses heading down behind me!) Anyway, happy "best of times" trails!

Things to know for Cascade Pass:

1) Expect a LOT of people. But the parking area loops around, so you don't have to settle for the first empty spot on the road you find - unless you really want to walk that extra mile. 

2) There are over 50 switchbacks, though I did lose track. 53 maybe?...and they are some of the longest switchbacks you will ever encounter!

3) Even though they get monotonous, do not cut the switchbacks. I know you already know that, but it never hurts to be reminded. 

4) I didn't start until 12:30 pm and got done at 4:30 pm - which is really fast for me for a nearly 8 mile hike. WTA states this as 7 miles round trip, but they are rounding down (never round down!) and I hiked further over the pass to escape the masses and also had to walk at least a quarter mile to my car.