The Daily bucket: North Cascades National Park and the North Cascades Highway Loop

Late October, 2015 North Cascades Mountains Washington State A trip in late October took me over the North Cascades Highway, through the North Cascades National Park and to Chelan where I met my two brothers for our annual three day exploration of the region’s natural wonders. We traveled to the Grand Coulee and its Dam along with other remarkable remnants of the giant Ice sheetsthat carved out large segments of Washington State. At Chelan, we boarded a foot ferry for a 100 mile round trip up Lake Chelan to the isolated village of Stehekin. Finally I returned home to Bellingham via Stevens Pass to complete the North Cascades Highway Loop. I took too many photos for a single diary so I’ll break the trip into segments: the North Cascades National Park, Lake Chelan, and the Grand Coulee.  All along the way the residue of the summer’s massive forest fires was prominent.                                    

The Daily Bucket is a regular feature of the Backyard Science group.  It is a place to note any observations you have made of the world around you. Insects, weather, meteorites, climate, birds and/or flowers.  All are worthy additions to the bucket.  Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment.  Include, as close as is comfortable for you, where you are located. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the patterns that are quietly unwinding around us.

The North Cascades Highway follows State Route 20, that stretches from the Olympic Peninsula near Discovery Bay, across Puget Sound over ferry routes, up and over the Cascade Mountains, and terminates at the Idaho border. Due to the height of the highway (Washington Pass at 5,477 feet), along with the pacific moisture and precipitation, it is closed about five months of the year. The Highway typically opens in April and closes in November although there have been a drought years when it did not close at all. The mountains are currently getting good snow so it is likely to close soon.

The North Cascades national Park and the Cascades Loop Highway

Once over the mountains and the Columbia River is reached, the Cascade Loop follows the river south on US 97 to Wenatchee where it meets U.S. Highway 2 going west and over Stevens Pass to return to Western Washington and complete the loop. This North Cascades route was originally the corridor used by local Native American tribes as a trading route from Washington's Eastern Plateau country to the Pacific Coast more than 9,600 years ago. It opened as a cross state highway in 1972 as the first National Scenic Highway in the United States, after over 100 years of planning. Appropriately I think, it has been called: "The Most Beautiful Mountain Highway in the State of Washington." In addition to the monster mountains, rivers, and streams, the North Cascades National Park boasts 1,600 plant species, more than any other National Park. Of course all the water helps out.

Follow along below the dividing line for the rest of the trip.