N. Cascades Hike Day 1: Cascade Pass to Bridge Creek

Sometimes you need a Stehekin cinnamon roll. The trouble is that to get to said cinnamon roll, you either need to hike 20+ miles over a pass, or drive all the way around to Chelan and then take a several hour boat ride up the lake. We decided to take the more direct route, thinking that it would be a tough uphill hike for just a few miles, then a coast down the Stehekin river valley to the shuttle at High Bridge. Not counting the bus ride  from High Bridge to the bakery, it should be ~35 miles round  trip. Doable in 3 days, right?

The last push up  to Cascade Pass

It was completely fogged in as we drove up the Cascade River. M was describing to me the cliffs hidden in the clouds, topped by Johannesburg  Mountain. After a long uphill crawl (slowed by day hikers)  and a brief encounter with marmot and pika, we came to the top of Cascade Pass. The day hikers sat on the stone benches at the top, while the backpackers pushed through with hardly a pause.

Our first sign for Stehekin!
(trail to Sahale in the background)

 The way down was more troubling than the climb up. My knees started getting hot after a mile or so, and hotspots formed on my feet not long after. The continual downward pound had re-activated my runner's knee, and we stopped several times for me to apply more moleskin patches and athletic tape to my blistering toes.

 At the same time, the clouds were breaking and revealing the Upper Stehekin Valley. The mountains were beautiful enough to distract me from even the worst aches.

As we switch-backed down into the valley, we were surrounded by wildflowers and the sound of rushing waterfalls. We walked through red paintbrush, orange tiger lilies, fucia bleeding hearts, Penstemmon, blue monkshod, and a frosting of white valerian and yarrow. 

Tiger lilies

Cooling off at a stream crossing / waterfall

We broke for lunch at Cottonwood Camp, just over 9 miles into our hike. We downed some delicious Mountain House re-hydrated Beef Stroganoff, relaxed, and pumped water. I had never hiked with dehydrated food before and was shocked at how delicious it was! M's dad had let us borrow his JetBoil stove, which was perfect for our needs. 90 seconds of fuel gave us enough boiling water for one dinner or two "cups" (ZipLok bowls) of coffee.

M walking into the cottonwoods... 

 After a refreshing break, we laced our boots back up for the last push into camp. From here in, we were following an old gravel road. In many places it was washed out or covered in boulders, but for the most part it was an even, steady drop as we trudged the last 7.5 miles to Bridge Creek. The sun dropped with us, and we rolled into camp around 8pm with just enough light to make dinner and set  up our tent.

Map and distances from the Wilderness Trip Planner