From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mountain pass in Washington
Cascade Pass
(formerly also known as
Skagit Pass
[1]
[2]
) is a 5,392-foot (1,643 m)
mountain pass
over the northern
Cascade Range
, east of
Marblemount, Washington
, U.S.
Although an important pass, providing the easiest connection from the
Cascade River
to the head of
Lake Chelan
, it is now inside
North Cascades National Park
, and crossed by only a hiking trail.
From the west, one reaches it by hiking an easy 3.5 mile trail from the end of the Cascade River Road (elev. 3,600 feet (1,100 m)). From the east, it is accessible via a trail from
Stehekin
up the
Stehekin River
valley.
The summit of the pass, being at the
tree line
, is known for its views in all directions. It is also a key departure point for
mountaineering
; to the north, the gentle ridge of the
Sahale arm
leads up
Sahale Mountain
to the summit, as well as to the meadows of Boston Basin and the summits above. To the south, Mixup Arm leads to
Mixup Peak
and
Magic Mountain
, as well as to
Cache Col
, making Cascade Pass the start of the high-level
Ptarmigan Traverse
.
The pass was originally a major route for
Native Americans
trading between the coast and the interior. Among the first white men to explore and map the Skagit Pass was New York newspaperman
Frank Wilkeson
.
Alexander Ross
probably crossed the Cascades via Cascade Pass in 1814. His writings are too vague to be certain about his precise route.
[3]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Rev.
Harvey K. Hines
, D.D.,
An Illustrated History of the State of Washington
, The Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1893, p. 284-286.
- ^
North Cascades Highway
Dedication Issue
Archived
2006-10-04 at the
Wayback Machine
,
Washington Highways
(Washington State Department of Transportation), September 1972, p. 4. Accessed online 12 September 2008.
- ^
Beckey, Fred
(2003).
Cascade Alpine Guide: Climbing and High Routes: Stevens Pass to Rainy Pass
(3rd ed.).
The Mountaineers
. pp. 221, 360.
ISBN
0-89886-423-2
.
References
[
edit
]