5. Gold Bar, Stevens Pass, Leavenworth

Updated May 2009
See also - Mountain Goats Drank my Pee

WEST
Skykomish
Wild Sky Wilderness
Stevens Pass
EAST
The Enchantments
Lake Wenatchee / White River
Mad River
Ardenvoir
Ingalls Creek
Lake Chelan

Although Snohomish County’s Community Transit (henceforth, CT) can carry you east along Highway 2 as far as Gold Bar, about all you can do from there is walk about six miles further east to the Index-Galena Road (and head quite a ways up that road to reach any trails).

It will improve in the next few years: the newly-established Wild Sky Wilderness is accessible from the Index-Galena Road, and as trails are established we’ll have more options. But the establishing of the Wilderness was just the first step; a lot of work remains to be done.

In the meantime, opt off CT at the town of Monroe to connect with a subsidiary of Greyhound, Northwestern Trailways (NWT). Buy your ticket at Monroe’s Chamber of Commerce (they’ll show you where the stop is).

NWT has flag stops at the Index-Galena Road, at Skykomish, and at Stevens Pass (see elsewhere in this article for the definition of “flag stop.” From the Index-Galena Road, some trips are possible, but they’re at the far end of the road (18-20 miles in—make sure you’re ready for such an ordeal). From Skykomish, venture into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. From Stevens Pass, head either north or south along the Pacific Crest Trail. South will lead you into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness; north, past peaks and mountain lakes and, eventually, Glacier Peak Wilderness.

Take Northwestern all the way into Leavenworth; a four mile walk along a well-paved road will lead you to the nearest trailhead of The Enchantments, one of the premier destinations in the Washington Cascades. From Leavenworth, local transit can take you to Lake Wenatchee, from which point trips can be made into the south side of Glacier Peak Wilderness. Local transit will also take you to Ardenvoir, eight miles up the Entiat Valley Road, from which several more excursions are possible, leading to high meadows and peaks.

Also use these buses to reach Lake Chelan, from which expeditions to Stehekin, entryway to majestic North Cascades National Park, can be launched.

Trail Options - West Side (Gold Bar to Stevens Pass)

Skykomish

You have several options in this area. Just south of the tiny town of Skykomish lies the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Access roads are five to ten miles in length.

As you’ll arrive in Skykomish at 11:30 in the morning, you’ll have plenty of time to find a suitable camp before nightfall. There are enough lakes for everyone, peaks to scramble up, glaciers to gaze up at. Connections to the Pacific Crest Trail are within reach.

To get to Skykomish, you must pick up NWT at Monroe. Paying $13, or $25 roundtrip (current rates) to be dropped off at the flag stop at Skykomish. (Flag stop protocols are explained in just a bit.) Before you leave the bus, ask the driver exactly where you should stand while flagging down the bus heading in the other direction – this is important.

Heading back toward Everett, the times you must remember: NWT passes Skykomish at 9:00 AM, and again at 2:15 PM.

You could, of course, stay with local transit to Gold Bar, as described in the previous trip, and then try your feet (or thumb) for the intervening 18 miles. There was a time when I might’ve…but now, I’ll take the bus.

Wild Sky Wilderness

As of press time, this newly-established “pocket wilderness” has been on the books for less than a year. Only a couple trails have been posted, and those are largely on recovering clear-cut forest, and directly adjacent to the Highway.
Much of the area was until recently the domain of mobile meth labs, and guys named Vern spinning the wheels of their ATV’s through mudholes, and telling city folk with backpacks that they ain’t no trails up here, and that I was on private propity, and that I should turn around and leave (I knew there was, and I wasn’t, and I didn’t have to…but you simply don’t argue with Vern in the middle of his woods).
So what I’m saying here is: it’ll be a while. I still can’t find any definitive maps, either in print or on the Internet, outlining the borders of the Wilderness. Complete peace has not yet been made with Vern. As soon as I know more, I’ll let you know.

Stevens Pass

NWT has a flag stop right at the Pass; signs are within visual range, directing you to the trailheads of the Pacific Crest Trail heading either north or south. Head in for a day or two, or for a week. Although there is no longer a transit connection to the south (at Snoqualmie Pass, a long, but frequently-traveled seventy-five miles away), you could head north along the Crest Trail, exiting in the Darrington area.

For that matter, you could probably go south anyway, tell your tale of transit adventure, and cadge a ride from Snoqualmie back at least to North Bend (where you could connect with Seattle’s Metro Transit).

East Side (Leavenworth to Lake Chelan)

The Enchantments

Bus stop to trailhead: 4.5 miles
Bus stop to far trailhead: 13.5 miles
Loop trip, trailhead to trailhead: 19 miles

This is one of the premier destinations in the Washington Cascades, a difficult to attain, high basin that is one non-stop photo-op of mountain goats, glacier-smoothed granite slabs, tiny lakes, and spire-like crags. It’s accessible by reservation only, between March 15 and October 15, and the reservation list is usually filled about fifteen minutes after it opens in the Spring. But persevere, or visit just after the middle of October (but beware: the upper basin sits at about 8000 feet, and brutal Winter can descend with little or no notice).

The site is administered by Lake Wenatchee National Forest, and the Ranger Station is about 100 yards east of where NWT drops you off in Leavenworth. Register there, in season. Outside of season, it’s legal to simply sign in at either of the trailheads, but it might be wise to check in at the Station anyway.

Outside of those registered in advance to visit the Enchantments, they throw the names of everyone who shows up at the Ranger Station at 7 in the morning into a hat, and allow five additional parties to go in. Call them for further details. Trust me: it’s worth all the trouble to visit the place – it’s a freakin’ treasure.

The first trailhead listed is Snow Creek. To reach it, head back west from Leavenworth to the Icicle Creek Road. Snow Creek is four miles in. The first tiny campsite is at about two miles.

The other entrance for the Enchantments is up Mountaineer Creek (Trail 1599). To reach it, pass the Snow Creek Trailhead and continue up Icicle Creek Road another four miles, all the way to Bridge Creek Crossing. Cross the Creek (quit whining – there’s a bridge already) and head up Road 7601. I know it’s a helluva long walk, but it’s well-traveled, and I’ve almost always managed to get a ride at least part of the way.

goats This latter route is the preferred approach for the following reason: you gain all of your elevation pretty much all at once. But then you can cruise downhill, at leisure, past all the breathtaking stuff. But there’s a price to be paid.

Trail 1599.1 takes you in about five grueling miles to Colchuck Lake (if you managed a ride you may reach the lake before dark). Starting the next day, from the far side of the lake you will gain 2300 feet in one mile. Plan on making a day of it. It’s ugly. It’s not a technical climb, but rather, just a cairn-hopping, lung-busting marathon of a single mile of hell, particularly if you’re traveling alone and packing a lot of gear. By the time you reach the top all you’ll want to do is crawl into your sleeping bag and sleep. And perhaps throw up, if you have anything left.

Oh, but you’ll want to take pictures. From that point on, once you get your wind back you’ll be in awe. Take extra film. Or whatever it is you digital people use.

Exit via Snow Creek; total distance, from Leavenworth, through the Enchantments, and back to Leavenworth, would be about 36 miles, minus whatever rides you manage to cadge. You’ll remember it forever.

Lake Wenatchee / White River

Bus stop to trailheads: 5-10 miles

From the Leavenworth Park & Ride (on the south, or eastbound side of Highway 2; exactly where NWT dropped you off) catch Link Transit (henceforth, LT) 37 at 2:00 PM, reaching Lake Wenatchee Village at about 2:50 PM. From there head west along the north side of Lake Wenatchee, reaching the Ranger Station at about five miles.

Your options start there. Right behind the Ranger Station sits the trailhead for Dirtyface Peak, a hot, interminable series of switchbacks leading to vertigo-inducing views of the Lake. But there’s also a lake, meadows, and nice campsites beyond the ridge.

If you continue past the Ranger Station along the road, you’ll reach Napeequa Crossing at ten miles; the trailhead there will take you shortly into Glacier Peak Wilderness. There are other options in the immediate area, too. Heading west from that point would connect you in a day or two with the Pacific Crest Trail, along which you could head south to Stevens Pass, flagging down NWT for your return trip.

Mad River

Bus stop to trailhead: 5 miles

Catching that same LT 37, get off at Thousand Trails, at the east end of the loop that the bus describes at the east end of Lake Wenatchee (talk to your bus driver – they will help you), reaching that point at about 2:30. From there it’s about five miles via a snaky zigzag of logging roads (watch your map carefully) to reach the trailhead for the Mad River.

There’s a spider’s web of crisscrossing trails here, passing countless meadows and peaks. Most of these trails allow mountain bikes and even motorcycles, so you’ll have some company here.

You could follow Mad River upstream, or downstream all the way to Ardenvoir, where you can catch another bus back to Leavenworth (see below).

Ardenvoir

Bus stop to trailhead: 3.5 miles

Reaching Leavenworth on NWT at about 12:20, go find lunch. Be back at the same stop at 2:10 to catch LT 22, leaving the bus at the Olds Station Retail Plaza transfer point at 2:45, where you will catch LT 26 at 3:15. This bus will take you up the road to Ardenvoir by 4:00, plenty of time to walk the three-plus miles to the Pine Flat Campground and trailhead. Madness (or at least the Mad River) lays beyond.
If you’re exiting the Mad River here, catching LT 26 at 10:45 in the morning and transferring westbound again to the 22 will get you back to Leavenworth by 12:18, plenty of time to catch NWT at 1:10 PM.

Ingalls Creek

Bus stop to trailhead: 8 miles

To accomplish this, catch LT Transit 22 at the same stop that NWT drops you off. There’s one at 12:35PM, about fifteen minutes after you’re scheduled to arrive. Next one’s at 2:05PM. You’ll want to disembark as close as the driver will let you to where Highway 97 (the old Blewett Pass Highway); this junction is just east of Peshastin. As of early fall 2008, the area around that junction was pretty well torn up for a highway widening project. Let your driver know that you’re trying to do as soon as you board; they’re usually so amazed that anyone would walk this stretch that they’ll try as much as possible to help you.

From the junction, walk seven miles south, past fruit trees (and, in season, fruit stands!) to the Ingalls Creek Road. From there it’s a mile to the trailhead. Eyes open for rattlesnakes.

Ingalls Creek is a long, (easy gradient for the longest time) river valley trail. Plenty of campsites along the creek. Your options include trips south on the other side of the creek (later in the summer, when the water is lower), continuing upvalley to Stuart Pass, the almost-obligatory sidetrip to Ingalls Lake. At Crystal Creek, it would be possible, for the hardy off-trail scrambler only, to side-door it into the Enchantments—but it is a wicked scramble.. You could even cross Stuart Pass, drop down Jack Creek, and end up exiting from the end of Icicle Creek Road.

Lake Chelan

It’s possible to continue on Link Transit all the way through Wenatchee and on to Lake Chelan. If you managed to catch the LT 22 at 12:35, you’ll reach Columbia Station in Wenatchee by 1:35, and can continue on LT 20, leaving Columbia Station at 3PM, and arriving in Chelan a little past four.

The 2:05 LT 22 results in your arrival in Chelan at about 6:45PM, but that’s as far as you’re going to get today, anyway. Chelan is a tourist town; it’s all about the Lake and power boats and summer homes. A couple of the RV parks along the lakeshore allow tent camping for a fee. Call the Chelan Chamber of Commerce beforehand to find out which ones (what, do I have to do everything for you?)Take earplugs. It’s that or get a room.

Next morning, catch one of the Lady of the Lake tour boats uplake. It’s kind of pricey, but the slower the boat, the cheaper the fare. It’s a good idea to have made reservations beforehand. At the north end of the lake sits Stehekin, entrance to North Cascades National Park. The only way to Stehekin is by boat, or floatplane. During the summer months, the National Park runs or contracts a bus that will shuttle backpackers several miles up the gravel road toward the trailheads, making it possible for you to save yourself for the really big stuff.

Lack of transit connections to the north, toward the Skagit drainage side, mean you’ll have to exit again via Lake Chelan.

Other options:
So many it’s not funny.

Seattle to Leavenworth – Seven Days a Week (ST, CT times will vary on weekend)

Sound Transit 510	4th & Union	7:55 AM	Everett Station	8:31
Sound Transit 510	4th & Union	8:25 AM	Everett Station	9:09
Community Transit 270	Everett Sta. Bay B2	9:05 AM	Highway 2 & Kelsey	9:40
CT 275	Everett Sta. Bay B2	9:35 AM	Monroe Library	10:20
Northwestern Trailways(NWT)	111 W. Main	10:40	Leavenworth	12:20 PM

To cross the Cascade Crest and reach the eastern side of the mountains it is necessary to use Northwestern Trailways, a subsidiary of Greyhound. It’s a bit pricier, costing currently about twenty bucks each way, from Monroe to Leavenworth. But once you reach Leavenworth you can reconnect with local transit (Link Transit, based in Wenatchee) which can take you all the way to Lake Chelan, if you wish.

I listed a couple of runs on each leg of the trip, you’ll note, as heavy daily commuter traffic along the I-5 corridor may persuade you to opt for the earlier runs, in case of delays. Also note that CT 270 does not go through the town of Monroe, like the 275, but stays on the main highway (Route 2) all the way to Gold Bar. From the 270 stop at Kelsey, you’ll walk about half a mile east to reach town center and the Chamber of Commerce (ask your driver for directions—you may even be able to hook up with another bus heading the other way through town).

You’ll buy your ticket for NWT at the Monroe Chamber of Commerce at the address listed. The actual stop for the bus is behind the building and across the parking lot (don’t worry: there is a sign). In the event that the Chamber of Commerce is closed, you can pay the bus driver in cash. And the only other eastbound NWT is at 5:05 PM, so do be a few minutes early, just in case.

Leavenworth to Seattle:

On the return trip you’ll be able to take advantage of the principle I call “falling downhill.” The weakest link in the transit chain is that which is present in the least quantity; i.e. the most rural; in this case the Northwestern Trailways bus. It leaves Leavenworth, heading west:

Northwestern Trailways

Leavenworth

7:55AM and 1:10PM

flag stops at Stevens Pass

8:40AM and 1:55PM

I should explain the concept of a ‘flag stop.’ If you’re trying to catch a Northwestern Trailways bus at a flag stop, be as close as you can be to the Pass (within sight of the sign stating ‘Stevens Pass Elevation whatever…), on the appropriate side of the highway—off the roadway—and leaving the bus driver ample time to see you, and ample room to pull off the road. As soon as you see the bus, wave like your arms are on fire. Seriously. And I don’t mean ‘drop and roll’ – flail wildly. Remember : there are only two buses a day; next one might be tomorrow. If it’s dim or rainy, wave your flashlight. Be early. The bus may be late, too. And don’t go into the bushes to pee – they’re just waiting for you to do that.

Remember, NWT is a private carrier, a subsidiary of Greyhound Lines, and some drivers, particularly if they’re running late, might not be as accommodating as county transit drivers. Your job, with the flailing and all, is to make sure everyone on the bus sees you, hell, to make sure everyone on that stretch of highway sees you – so that the driver pretty much has to stop for you.

You could, I suppose, take the NWT all the way to Everett, or even Seattle, but I’ll continue to disembark at Monroe and take local transit the rest of the way. Now, back to the principle of falling downhill: as you head toward larger population centers, there will be more bus options, and they’ll run increasingly frequently. Even the afternoon bus drops you off in Monroe at about 3PM, in plenty of time to make the rest of your connections back to Seattle. So check the sign at the CT bus stop nearest where NWT dropped you off, go find lunch if you wish.

For those of you returning from Lake Chelan, heading back toward Seattle: your journey is a bit more complex than if you were just picking up buses starting at Leavenworth, so I’ll post your entire itinerary. Remember – the limiting factor (the bus which is present in the least quantity) is Northwestern Trailways. Of course, you’ll miss their early morning run from Leavenworth, so your goal is to reach Leavenworth by 1:10 PM for the only other NWT westbound. To that end:

Chelan to Seattle (Monday through Saturday)

Link Transit 21C leaves	Chelan Chamber of Commerce	@ 8:13 AM or 9:13 AM	Arr. Wenatchee Columbia Station	@ 9:19 or 10:19
LT 22 leaves	Wenatchee Columbia Sta. Bay A	@ 10:30 or 11:45	Arr. Leavenworth Park & Ride	@ 11:08 or 12:23
NWT leaves	Leavenworth P&R	@ 1:10 PM	Arr. Monroe Arr. Everett*	@ 2:55 @ 3:25
CT 270 leaves	Monroe Library	@ 4:25	Arr. Everett Sta.	@ 5:20 PM
ST 510 leaves	Everett Sta. Bay C1	Every half hour @ :20 & :40 until 6:20; hourly thereafter	arr. See-adl	Approx. 1 hr. later

*Taking Northwestern Trailways all the way to Everett burns another six bucks or so, but it gets you back to Everett much quicker, as CT 270 kind of meanders. NWT uses Everett Station as well. You could take them all the way back to See-adl – but they don’t make any better time on Interstate 5 than does Sound Transit. So, of course, I recommend leaving NWT at Everett and taking ST the rest of the way.

Times will vary a bit on Saturday for CT and ST schedules, but times for the other systems remain the same. This schedule will not work on Sundays, as Link Transit does not operate.

Fares:

Sound Transit	$2.50 (ask for transfer)
Community Transit	.00 (transfer accepted as fare)
Northwestern Trailways	$21.00 (one-way)
Link Transit	$1.50