North Cascades Day-Hikes

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Friday night we went to Bobby’s Hawaiian Style Restaurant in Everett (featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives). We were greeted with ‘Aloha’ when we can in. It was pretty good. I had the Mochi Chicken, Nikki had the Lau Lau (pork wrapped in taro leaf & steamed) and Joe had the Bar-B-Que Beef. Mine was the favorite. Hawaiian fried chicken with a tropical hint.

Early Saturday morning we drove north to hike the North Cascades. We took I-5 to Arlington and made our way to Highway 20/N Cascades Hwy through Darrington. Around here the clouds began to depart, making Mt Pilchuck somewhat visible. We stopped by the Darrington Ranger Station to pick up the $5 daily Northwest Forest Pass for parking at the trailheads for the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. At Rockport we entered the beauty of the North Cascades.

We noted a few good-looking locations to eat as we passed Marblemount.

Seattle City Light, who is the public utility providing 25% of the electrical power to Seattle and the surrounding area, operates the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project in Newhalem. It is a series of 3 hydroelectric dams on the Skagit River.

The 3 dams providing power are Gorge Dam, Diablo Dam and Ross Dam. This is Gorge Dam and Gorge Lake beyond.

We drove by Diablo Lake. We parked at the Thunder Knob Trailhead, just before Thunder Arm off Diablo Lake. It is 3.8mi round-trip hike with a moderate 650’ elevation gain to a 360 degree view of Pyramid Peak, Diablo Lake, Jack Mountain and Thunder Arm. The trailhead begins in Colonial Creek Campground, which has some nice sites with access to the lake shore.

Log crossing over Colonial Creek.

Sneak peak of south Thunder Arm.

North Cascades. My favorite mountain rock formation, ‘the claw’.

Diablo Lake.

Rock tower. Of course Joe & Nikki’s game became who could throw a some stone at it and knock it over.

Snack time. Note Chance’s ear. The wind here felt great after the hike up.

At the peak. About the same view from the highway overlook across the way.

Joe, Nikki & Chance.

Family pic.

Nikki.

Chance.

Heading back down Thunder Knob Trail.

Thunder Arm of Diablo Lake by Colonial Creek Campground.

We drove by the Ruby Arm of south Ross Lake in the Ross Lake Recreation Area.

We drove by several trailheads that were not listed as being completely open (snow not cleared), but the parking lots were full. Looks like the internet wasn’t up-to-date.

The next trail we took was to Cutthroat Lake, 45 minutes away. It is on the way down into the Methow Valley, 25 miles east of Winthrop. This is a 3.9mi trail near Cutthroat Creek.

Hiking the trail.

Mountains.

A drink of water in Cutthroat Creek.

Pit-stop.

Another drink in Cutthroat Creek.

Chance smelt a nearby campsite grillin’ food.

Cooling off with a dip in cold Cutthroat Creek.

Nikki.

Mmm, dried mangos.

Another log crossing.

Chance is a good hiker when she has to carry her own stuff.

Cutthroat Lake. The marshy grasses kept us from the water’s edge.

There was a small narrow off-the-maps trail toward tall rocks on the south bank where we could see people sunbathing.

Getting closer.

The trail was very muddy, making it difficult to find solid ground. Nikki took one for the team thinking there was a log in the middle of the mud trail, only to discover it was all mud as deep as her hiking boots!

Cutthroat Lake view while Nikki washed off.

Glimpses of rock shore.

Looks like my camera is starting go. Not sure why these streaks have begun to show up in some of my photos today, but I liked this one of a fly-fisherman. Looks like I need to start looking for a new camera.

Crystal clear waters. Blue when reflecting the sky, green when reflecting the lush vegetation.

Back across Cutthroat Creek log crossing.

Cutthroat Creek.

Beautiful drop down into the Methow Valley.

Driving home along the N Casacades Hwy.

We stopped at Marblemount Diner for dinner.  We had oyster shooters, fish n’ chips, Pork Tenderloin Sandwich and Southern Country Fried Steak sandwich.