Backpacking in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

One can easily say that Washington State holds some of the most beautiful, untouched, and rugged terrain in all of North America. At breakfast one could wake up on a driftwood littered beach on the coastline of a temperate rainforest, and by dinner be jumping into a glacial lake of the high Cascade peaks. With some of the most amazing wildlife covered landscapes and best backpacking in Washington and even in the United States, one can spend the rest of their lives trying to explore and conquer all of this untouched terrain. But just a warning, around every corner there will always be something more mind blowing than the last. A friend and I decided to explore the pristine Alpine Lakes Wilderness region of this range with a planned hike spread out over three days, two nights, and 30 hiked miles reaching nearly 8,000 feet of maximum elevation, with plans to visit Cathedral Pass, Deep Lake, Peggy’s Pond, and lastly a hike to the eastern peak of Mt. Daniel...

James Parascandola details a 3 day trip to the scenic Alpine Lakes Wilderness in Washington State. Check out the article in Issue 27:

Three Days in the Cascades

Issue 27 Page 1

[seano]

Nice article -- I haven't been to that side of the Alpine Lakes, but only to the crowded northeast side near Leavenworth.  One correction: I'm pretty sure the last photo is Rainier, not Baker.  To see Baker, up near Canada, from the Alpine Lakes, you would be looking across the whole North Cascades.  Also, neighboring Shuksan would be clearly visible to its right.

[ppine]

It is a great place to hike and backpack. I spent a lot of time there while going to grad school in forestry at UW.  Enchanted Lakes Basin was always my favorite place to hike in the region.  There are a lot more people now in the backcountry in WA state.