north cascades

Ask nearly anyone in the northwest corner of Washington about Yellow Aster Butte and you’ll hear about how incredible, beautiful, and amazing the trail is. It seemed that everyone but me had visited this trail. With another day of amazing fall weather predicted, I decided to check off this trail and find out exactly what was so amazing about it. 

Most people here in the Pacific Northwest are in agreement about one important thing – our autumn weather has been fantastic! October was especially amazing and I took full advantage to check some hikes off of my list. First up – Frosty Mountain in Manning Provincial Park.

I decided to take it easy a couple days before reaching the Canadian border. I spent the day leap-frogging with my trail friends as we hiked a bit less than 10 miles, explored a lake, and enjoyed “cocktail hour” in a beautiful alpine meadow.

An inspiring day, hiking from pass to pass to pass beneath steep mountain ridges.

For two days I hiked almost exclusively uphill. I’d ascend over 5000 feet from the trailhead just north of Stehekin through Bridge Creek Valley, up into Rainy Pass and then a big climb to the top of Cutthroat Pass.

Taking the detour to avoid the fire meant climbing through one more pass. It was worth it though for the beauty on the other side! The alpine lakes were gorgeous and the trail took me to a touch of civilization in Holden Village.

One of my highest mile days around Glacier Peak included a young bear, old trees, rivers and creeks. It was an easy mileage day, but ended with a bit of unnerving news…

The best views of Glacier Peak are four days north of Steven’s Pass. My day started low and climbed up and up to scenic vistas and wildflower-filled alpine bowls.

My third day on trail was a day of epic proportions and a million photographs. I travelled through incredible alpine meadows, climbed through a transition zone and was stunned by the vision of Glacier Peak.