Romano - Day hiking. North Cascades: Mount Baker/ Mountain Loop Highway/ San Juan Islands

Previous page: Foggy Lake from Del Campo Peak

Larches in October

Rugged shoulder of Church Mountain

Opposite: North Twentymile Peak

Shark Reef on Lopez Island

Monkey flowers

Skyline Divide

South Fork Cascade River

DAY HIKING

North

Cascades

mount baker/mountain loop highway/san juan islands

Craig Romano

1001 SW Klickitat Way, Suite 201, Seattle, WA 98134

2008 by Craig Romano

All rights reserved

First edition: first printing 2008, second printing 2010

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Manufactured in Canada

Copy Editor: Julie Van Pelt
Cover and Book Design: The Mountaineers Books
Layout: Mayumi Thompson
Cartographer: Moore Creative Design
All photos by the author unless otherwise noted.

Cover photograph: Autumn larches (Photo by Alan Bauer)
Frontispiece: Mount Baker from Dock Butte

Maps shown in this book were produced using National Geographic's TOPO! software. For more information, go to www.nationalgeographic.com/topo.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Romano, Craig.
Day hiking North Cascades / by Craig Romano.1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-1-59485-048-6
ISBN-10: 1-59485-048-8
1. HikingWashington (State)Guidebooks. 2. HikingCascade RangeGuidebooks. 3. HikingWashington (State)San Juan IslandsGuidebooks. 4. Washington (State)Guidebooks. 5. Cascade RangeGuidebooks. 6. San Juan Islands (Wash.)Guidebooks. I. Title.
GV199.42.W2R66 2007
796.5109797dc22
2007041014

Printed on recycled paper
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-59485-048-6
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-59485-256-5

Hikes at a Glance

Acknowledgments

In addition to my trusty pickup truck and several (now well-worn) pairs of hiking shoes, the following people's help and support were essential for writing this book.

First, a big grazie to all the great people at The Mountaineers Books, especially publisher Helen Cherullo and Hally Swift for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this exciting day-hiking series. Grazie to Kate Rogers, too, for her support. Mille grazie to Mary Metz for her encouragement and for listening to my rants about creating maps and profilesand for being so understanding and flexible concerning my deadlines. I promise never to move house again while working on a manuscript! I especially want to thank my editor, Julie Van Pelt, whose professionalism and attention to detail has contributed to making this book a finer volume. I look forward to working with you on my next bookI hope you can handle more of my bad puns and my tendency to alliterate a lot.

I also want to acknowledge guidebook pioneers Ira Spring and Harvey Manning for their inspiration and invaluable knowledge. It is an honor to walk in their bootprints. And to my series partners, Alan Bauer and Dan Nelson, I am both honored and pleased to be in your company.

Lastly, but most importantly, I want to thank my wife Heather for believing in me and supporting me while I worked hard on yet another manuscript. Thanks for hiking with me, too, to so many of the special places in this book. And mille, mille grazie for all of the shoulder massages after my long nights at the keyboard.

Preface

I first stepped foot (actually wheel) in Washington State in April 1980. I had bicycled across the country from my home state, New Hampshire, and entered the Evergreen State in Pacific County. I immediately fell in love with the raw beauty and expansive wild tidal flats of Willapa Bay. The Washington that I first experienced was the Washington I had always imagineda land of big timber, big rivers, and a big coastline.

In July 1985 I returned to the state and got off the roads and onto the trailsdestination North Cascades! My first hike, to Cutthroat Pass, yielded stunning alpine views and an up-close and personal encounter with four mountain goats. The next day I headed for Sourdough Mountain. The grueling trail delivered me to resplendent meadows, glistening snowfields, and a drop-dead view of cobalt Diablo Lake. A friendly fire lookouta Jack Kerouac protggreeted me with an ice-cold beer. It didn't take long for me to become enamored with these wild and awesome mountains.

I came back for more hiking in the summer of 1989, and I never left. There was just too much wild country to explore and I became determined to see it all. And as a guidebook writer I'm trying my darnedest to do just that. I'm fortunate to be able to return to the North Cascades pretty much whenever I want to, and Cutthroat Pass remains as special to me today as it was a quarter of a century ago.