5. Gold Bar, Stevens Pass, Leavenworth
Updated September 2011
See also - Mountain Goats Drank my Pee
This chapter will give you a huge number of options in the central and northern Cascades. You’ll be able to reach the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Henry M. Jackson Wilderness, Glacier Peak Wilderness, and even as far east as Lake Chelan, from which, by boat, you can reach North Cascades National Park.
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Trail Option A: Skykomish
This is not one hike, but rather a whole slew of them. A plethora of them. You'll be venturing into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness just south of the town of Skykomish. Some of them might qualify as "easy," and, sure, you might run into Cub Scouts and Blue Birds (do they still even have Blue Birds?), but don't let them intimidate you (and I dare you to keep up with them). General rule of thumb: Blue Birds will always kick your ass; put it down to the general irrepressible exuberance of youth. But the Alpine Lakes Wilderness contains enough lakes that surely you'll be able to find one of your own.
Leave NWT at the stop in Skykomish (make sure before you leave the bus that you've asked the driver precisely where the bus stops heading the other way, for your return trip--to avoid nasty surprises). Cross the bridge into town, have lunch, fill your water bottle. Hang a right at the end of town onto the Old Cascade Highway, walk 2 miles, then 8 miles up the Miller River Road (Rd. 6410, turning into 6412) to the trailhead. It's about 2 miles to Lake Dorothy, and the trail continues on for several more lakes.
Alternatively, you could head east from Skykomish about 2 miles, hanging a right just past the Ranger Station onto the Foss River Road. Four miles from the Ranger Station will get you to the start of the East Fork Foss River Trail (with its own set of lakes); yet another 2 miles or so will get you to the West Fork Trail (ditto). There's even a ridge trail to the east. You could even continue east, connect with the Pacific Crest Trail, and head north (past even more lakes--you'd better have packed bug spray) to Stevens Pass, where you can flag down NWT for your return trip (be certain you're familiar with NWT "flag stop" protocols).
B. Wild Sky Wilderness
The recently-established Wild Sky Wilderness has been in existence for about a year-and-a-half, and that existence is largely just on paper. Two trails within the Wilderness currently exist, though neither Green Trails maps nor USGS maps currently show them. Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest is now trying to figure out two things: 1) where to put additional trails, and 2) how to fund the building of those trails, once they're decided upon. In the meantime, here's what I've been able to learn about the two extant trails:
BARCLAY LAKE. Debark NWT at Index flag stop. Walk 6 miles east on Highway 2. Turn left onto FS Road 6024, follow it 4.5 miles to trailhead. This looks like an easy one (ten miles of road-walking notwithstanding); expect company. It's only 2.2 miles to Barclay Lake, without much elevation gain. A "less formal" trail exists to Eagle Lake, as well as others. These look like your best chance for quiet camping.
BECKLER PEAK. Debark NWT at Skykomish flag stop. Walk 4 miles east on Highway 2. Turn left onto FS Road 6066, follow it 6.5 miles to trailhead. It's 3.6 steep miles to the peak. (This one presents a problem: it's too far for a day trip, but there don't appear to be any camping opportunities until several miles in, well past the peak. Perhaps as maps including this trail are published, solutions will be found.)
C. 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).
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D. 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).
Northwestern Trailways will drop you off at the Icicle QuikMart at the west end of the town of Leavenworth. Within reservation season, you must walk about a half mile east to the Lake Wenatchee National Forest ranger station to register. Outside of that reservation season you legally can simply head south on the Icicle Cree Road after debarking the bus but it is recommended that you check in with the ranger station anyway, if only for a weather update and current trail information.
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.
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.
E - Lake Wenatchee / White River
Bus stop to trailheads: 5-10 miles
About a half mile east of the Icicle QuikMart on Highway 2 at the eastbound Link transit stop, opposite the park and ride, catch Link Transit (LT) 37 at 2:00 pm (next one's at 6:00 pm, in other words, don't miss it) arriving at Lake Wenatchee about 50 minutes later. 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.
F - 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).
G - Ingalls Creek
Bus stop to trailhead: 8 miles
Leaving Northwest Trailways at the QuikMart at 12:20, hustle east to the eastbound LT stop opposite the park and ride (or ask the NWT driver if they'll drop you off there; it worked for me). Catch LT22 there at 12:35 pm (or the next one is at 2:05 pm).
Leave the bus at the junction of Highway 97, and before you get off the bus, ask the driver where the westbound stop is so you know where to catch it on the way back.
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.
H - Ardenvoir
Bus stop to trailhead: 3.5 miles
Reaching Leavenworth on NWT at about 12:20, go find lunch. Be at the eastbound LT stop opposite the park and ride 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.
J - Lake Chelan
Reaching Lake Chelan gives you access to Stehekin, the southern entrance to North Cascades National Park, via Lake Chelan's Lady of the Lake tour boats. They've got a slow boat (currently $39 roundtrip), a fast boat ($79
roundtrip), a combo deal with the slow boat one-way and the fast boat the other ($59 -- this can work to your advantage vis-a-vis making bus connections; I'll explain below). Hell, for that matter, you can make the trip from Chelan to Stehekin in a floatplane for $79 each way, but if you're the kind of cheapskate that takes the bus everywhere that'd just be silly, wouldn't it?
This is a bit more pricey than the other trips on this site for three reasons: you've already taken NWT from Monroe to Leavenworth, and then you'll have the boat tickets. The third reason is that you'll arrive in Chelan in late afternoon, and the boats don't leave until the following morning.
Chelan is a rather pricey tourist town in the summertime, and there are plenty of well-maintained and prominent signs advising against camping in the city parks. One option, after Labor Day, is that a couple of the RV parks along the lakeshore will allow tent camping for a fee (five years ago it was $30, and noisy, with all those RV generators and yapping RV hounds).
Another option would be to camp at Lake Chelan State Park that night before; that would entail opting off the LT 21 just as it reaches the lake, walking about five miles west to the State Park, camping there, and then walking the five miles back in the morning to catch the LT 21 passing the same point at 7:07 AM, heading the rest of the way into Chelan. That really does sound like a pain in the ass, doesn't it. Not that I haven't done such things.
A far more reasonable option would be to find a cheap room for the night in Chelan. As I mentioned above, Chelan is an expensive place to be a tourist; it's possible to drop a couple hundred bucks a night for accommodations. Rule to remember: prices drop the further you get from the lakefront. I recommend Mom's Motel (fall 2010, $65 for the night), just up the hill, and behind the Apple Cup Restaurant (which I also emphatically recommend -- it's where all the locals eat).
If you arrive in Chelan in time to buy your boat tickets, I recommend doing so (the LT 21 will pass right by the Lady if the Lake office and dock -- it's even marked on the bus schedule map, with a stop right outside). Walking from there to your accommodations for the night will allow you to determine how long it will take you to walk it in the morning.
Okay -- enough about the tedium of buses and motel rooms -- why go to Chelan and Stehekin anyway? The boat trip is 55 miles long; there are roads along the lake for only the first 25 miles. Then not. Just mountains. Take binoculars for the occasional bear or mountain goat.
The boat makes a few stops, one is at Lucerne, where in season one can catch the short bus up to Holden Village, a Lutheran retreat, and entrance to the east side of the Glacier Peak Wilderness (note that any vehicles you see have necessarily been barged in -- on the Lady of the Lake's slow, slow barge).
There's a stop at Prince Creek, from which point you could walk the dozen or so miles the rest of the way to Stehekin. Or you can proceed on to Stehekin, where you'll register for your trip into North Cascades National Park (Stehekin itself sits in Lake Chelan National Recreation Area).
Grab a burger at the Landing; get your bearings. Four times a day in the peak summer months, the National Park runs a bus shuttle from the Stehekin Landing, all the way to High Bridge, saving you eleven miles of dirt road walking, if you're going in that direction. (As the current summer schedule runs, getting uplake on the fast boat doesn't give you any advantage, in terms of catching the shuttle; with the slow boat you'll arrive at 12:30 PM, in plenty of time to register and grab a bite before being on the 2:00 PM shuttle to High Bridge).
But you don't have to take the shuttle; there are trails that head directly eastward into the Park. Seriously -- look at this one on a topo map: there is a veritable crapload of trails radiating out in almost all directions. Pick one. pick a couple.
This is perhaps the premier destination in the North Cascades; high, snow-covered peaks, glaciers, all sorts of wild critters await you. On your return trip, catching the fast boat (the Lady Express) will work to your financial advantage, as it will get you back to Chelan early enough that you won't have to spend another night in Chelan, but will, in fact, be able to get all the way back to Seattle (albeit by 11 PM). Makes for a long day, but to be able to say to woke up in North Cascades National Park, hiked out, took…one bus, then one boat, then four more buses to reach Seattle…gives you some twisted kind of bragging rights.
If money is an issue, you can possibly still catch the last LT 21 out of town even if you take the slow boat. If the slow boat is on time (the slow boat is scheduled to arrive at 6:00 PM; the last bus leaves the Chelan Chamber of Commerce -- four or five blocks away -- at 6:13 PM). But sometimes the boat can be late. Better perhaps to be on the fast boat heading back to Chelan….
You'll note that I've listed taking the NWT all the way back to Seattle, if catching the 8:25 PM run from Leavenworth. It only costs about $7 more than if you got off at Monroe and "localled it" the rest of the way. Buses become few and far between in Snohomish County that time of the night, and even Sound Transit stops running from Everett eventually. Pay the seven bucks. You don't want to be heading down Highway 99 at one in the morning. You just don't.
Other options:
So many it’s not funny.
Transit Information: How to Get There
Snohomish County’s Community Transit (CT) will carry you along Highway 2 as far east as Gold Bar, but about all you can do there is a day trip to Wallace Falls State Park, or walk another six miles east along the highway to the Index-Galena Road (and from there, another 15-18 miles up that road to reach trailheads in the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness). This is beyond the interest of most normal people.
The Index-Galena Road will open up further options in the near future; the recently established Wild Sky Wilderness sits between the highway and the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, and so will offer more easily reached options.
In the meantime, you’ll likely want to travel further east. Opt off CT in Monroe, just east of Kelsey Street in front of the RiteAid Store (ask your driver for help if you’re unsure). Catch the eastbound Northwestern Trailways (NWT), a subsidiary of Greyhound Lines, at that same stop.
You probably will not have had time that morning to buy your ticket at the Greyhound ticket desk inside Everett Station, as they don’t open until 9 AM. Your options would include: buying your ticket the day before at the Seattle Greyhound station (if you’re starting from Seattle); buying it at the Monroe Chamber of Commerce (the CT 275 leaving Everett Station at 8:38 leaves the highway and goes through town, right past the Chamber of Commerce, then just get pointed in the right direction and walk back to the Kelsey stop); or you could simply do your research beforehand to learn the proper fare for the trip of your choice, and buy your ticket from the driver as you board.
Note: If you’re boarding (or leaving) NWT at either the Skykomish or the Stevens Pass stop, reservations are required (that means in both directions of travel; you’ll have to inform them when you’ll be heading the other way, or you’re taking a big chance). Call them at 1-800-366-6975. The stops are also listed as ‘flag stops,’ which mean that you have to be there, or the bus won’t stop.
Let me further elaborate on the term, ‘flag stop:’
‘Flag stop’ means you have to be standing within the precise boundaries of said stop (check with your driver, if planning to reboard heading in the opposite direction at a later time, to learn exactly where that flag stop lies, unless you wish to have that bus fly blithely past you). It also means you have to be standing where the driver can clearly see you. Waving your arms like a madman helps. If it’s dark or even dim, wave a flashlight. Your job, in short, is to make the driver, every person already on the bus--hell, everyone on the highway within a quarter mile--know that you’re trying so fervently to catch that bus that the driver absolutely HAS to stop to save face.
Be twenty minutes early. Expect the bus to be late (unless you are, in which case, it will have been early, of course). Don’t disappear into the bushes to take a quick leak--they’re just waiting for you to do that. Don’t have your gear unpacked, and be in the middle of cooking a quick meal: they won’t wait for you.
And once the driver acknowledges your existence and begins pulling off the highway, get out of the way and give him or her room to pull off safely--for you and the driver.
I’m not actually trying to be funny. This is simply the way it is.
From the town of Skykomish, head south into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. From Stevens Pass, head north or south along the famed Pacific Crest Trail; north toward the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness and Glacier Peak Wilderness, south toward the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.
If you’re continuing on, opt off NWT at Leavenworth. You have several options there without further transit help, including the...enchanting...Enchantments (I couldn’t very well say ‘famed’ again, though they deservedly are), and many more further on along the Icicle Creek Road.
If you’re going further east, catch Link Transit at the Leavenworth Park & Ride, about half a mile east from where NWT dropped you off. Link Transit (LT) can take you north to Lake Wenatchee, or east (past Ardenvoir, and the Highway 97 turnoff toward Ingalls Creek). LT will even take you all the way to Lake Chelan, from which journeys can be undertaken north (by boat) to Glacier Peak Wilderness, as well as North Cascades National Park (you’ll end up spending a night in or near the town of Chelan, but we’ll get to that).
| Sound Transit 510 | 4th & Union (Seattle) | @ 7:55 AM | arr. Everett Station | 8:31 AM |
| Community Transit 275 | Everett Station Bay B4 | @ 8:38 | arr. Highway 2 &Kelsey | 9:32 |
| CT 270 | Everett Station Bay B4 | @ 9:08 | arr Highway 2 & Kelsey | 9:41 |
| Northwestern Trailways | Highway 2 & Kelsey | @ 10:40 | arr. Leavenworth (Icicle QuikMart) | 12:20 PM |
| Link Transit 22 | Leavenworth Park & Ride (eastbound) | @ 12:38 | arr. Euclid & Penny (transfer point outsideWenatchee) | 1:15 |
| LT 22 | Leavenworth Park & Ride (eastbound) | @ 2:08 | arr. Euclid & Penny (transfer point outsideWenatchee) | 2:45 |
| LT 21 | Euclid & Penny | @ 1:41 | arr. Chelan | 2:30 |
| LT 20 | Euclid & Penny | @ 3:00 | arr. Chelan | 4:10 PM |
You’ll note that I listed an extra run or two, particularly considering I-5 corridor weekday commuter traffic congestion, it is usually wise to give yourself some extra time. You may even want to catch Sound Transit half an hour earlier than the posted time.
Also, note that CT 270 does not leave Highway 2 to course through the community of Monroe; it simply makes the Kelsey stop and continues eastward. CT 275, however, does make the big loop through town, and eventually passes right by the Chamber of Commerce, where you may buy your NWT tickets.
The weakest link in any transit chain, of course, is that which is present in the least quantity; i.e. the most rural, in this case Northwestern Trailways. There are two runs a day in either direction; I only listed the earlier of the two eastbound ones, as the later one is too late to be of much use to us.
Below are the westbound NWT times.
Leavenworth (Icicle Quik Mart) |
Stevens Pass | Skykomish Junction | Monroe |
| lv 1:10 PM |
lv 1:55 PM | 2:15 PM | 2:55 PM |
| 7:10 PM | 7:55 PM | 8:05 PM | 8:45 PM |
NWT lists the Stevens Pass and Skykomish stops on the afternoon run as “on call,” on the evening run they are listed as “flag stops.” Check their website to be certain you understand the difference.
On the earlier of the two, you’ll have no trouble at all connecting with CT at Monroe, buses will be running often heading back toward Everett. On the later run however, I recommend paying the extra money, if possible, and staying with NWT all the way back to Seattle, as CT runs start to thin out late in the evening, and even Sound Transit stops running from Everett at about 10 PM. After that time, it’d be CT local buses heading slowly along old Highway 99 all the way back to Seattle (which might just be your cup of tea if you’re looking for hookers or meth. Your call).
For those of you returning all the way from Chelan, heading back toward Seattle, your itinerary is a bit more complex, so I’ve listed the whole thing (to connect with either NWT run). Remember: Chelan County’s Link Transit does not run at all on Sundays, so if you’re east of Leavenworth you’re not going anywhere ‘til Monday.
Chelan to Seattle (Monday through Saturday) EARLY RUN
| Bus | leaves | time | arrives | time |
| Link Transit 21C | Chelan Chamber of Commerce | 8:13 AM, 9:13 AM |
Wenatchee Columbia Station | 9:19 AM, 10:19 AM |
| Link Transit 22 | Columbia Station Bay A | 10:30 AM, 11:45 AM |
Leavenworth (Icicle Quik Mart) | 11:08 AM, 12:23 PM |
| NWT | Leavenworth (Icicle Quik Mart) | 1:10 PM | Monroe | 2:55 PM |
| CT 270, 275, 271 | Monroe (same stop as NWT) | hourly* | Everett Station | approx. 45 minutes later |
| Sound Transit 510 | Everett Station | every half hour until 6:20 PM, hourly thereafter * | Seattle | approx. 1 hour later |
*Times will vary on Saturday. Check CT schedules.
Chelan to Seattle (Monday through Saturday) LATE RUN
| Bus | leaves | time | arrives | time |
| Link Transit 21* | Chelan Chamber of Commerce | 4:45 PM | Euclid Ave. & Penny Road (transfer point) | 5:31 PM |
| Link Transit 22 | Euclid Ave. & Penny Road (transfer point) | 5:41 PM | Leavenworth (Icicle Quik Mart) | 6:21 PM |
| NWT | Leavenworth (Icicle Quik Mart) | 7:10 PM | Monroe | 8:45 PM |
| CT 271 ** | Monroe | 9:13 PM | Everett | 10:02 PM |
| Sound Transit 510 | Everett Station Bay C1 | 10:28 PM | Seattle | 11:12 PM |
Big giant asterisks all over this run. This run assumes you caught the early Lady of the Lake boat (and, as well, that the boat arrived in Chelan on time--not a given). And...Link Transit’s schedule is a handful: note that route numbers are crammed together on the same list, and that SOME run Monday through Friday, OTHERS run Monday through Saturday, still others run Saturday only. Caveat transitor. (That means, for those of your who can’t figure out Latin, that YOU’RE ultimately responsible for checking that all these connections work, and haven’t been changed since the time of this posting).
** This will not work at all on Saturdays. You’ll have to take NWT at least to Everett.
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 |