Hey guys, Planning on driving the North Cascades highway and doing some hiking along the way, preferably some good challenging multi day hikes. We have experience mountaineering and alpine hiking. So far I’ve found the Devils Dome loop, can you guys suggest any hikes accessible from the highway route you have enjoyed? Thanks!

I'm currently researching planning what will be the first backpacking trip I've been on since I was a kid. This will also be my first time planning out my own backpacking trip. I haven't decided on an exact location but somewhere close to Portland cuz I don't have a car and my parents won't wanna drive me super far.

Anyways, I vape and this raises a concern I haven't seen talked about when discussing bear safety before, do I need to put my vape in the bear sack? Does having a vape in your tent get you mauled? To be honest I'd rather not have to get the bear sack down and open it if I wanna hit my vape in the night or something, but if I need to put my vape in the bear sack to not get mauled I'll deal with the hassle of having to put it in the bear sack.

Every year my mom likes to use Mother’s Day to go hiking/get away from the city. The problem is that we’re Seattle natives, and I’m having a hard time finding a home we haven’t already done that’s close by enough to make it back in time for a nice restaurant dinner! We usually try to hit up the Snoqualmie area since it’s easy to get to, although one of our favorite hikes in recent years was the Maple Pass Loop in the north cascades. Lake 22, Rattlesnake, Poo Poo, Mason Lake, Lake Annette, Talapus & Olallie, among others have all been staples over the years.

Any suggestions for cool hikes that are moderate, somewhere around 4-7 miles, and close to Seattle are much appreciated!!

Debating if conditions will be too sloppy/dangerous to go. Any thoughts on how things will be on Sunday or Monday? Thinking of an early 2am start

I’m climbing Mount Baker via Easton Glacier with IMG in July. I climbed Rainier with them 8 years ago and had a positive experience, though the lack of sleep was a real challenge. My wife has never done a glaciated climb before, though she has very good hiking/backpacking experience. Any tips from those who have done this trip?

My buddy and I are planning on doing Silver Star tomorrow, but not sure which trail head to start at. Any suggestions? We're traveling from East Vancouver.

All,

For my first ever PNW hiking trip, I'm planning to do the Timberline Trail this July. I'm 35 (m) with lots of experience in the southeast (AT SOBO). Currently looking at the week of July 15, during the week to avoid weekend crowds. However, I'm having trouble securing a local buddy. I'm a teacher, so weekdays don't work so well for my non-teaching friends. I love hiking solo, but given that I've never been to the PNW and there are some river crossings, I'm entertaining the idea of seeking a partner online, which I've never done before. I'll probably go regardless and carry a Garmin, and maybe even wait at river crossings if they are sketchy until morning or until fellow hikers arrive.

Do any of you locals have thoughts on this? Good websites or places to find hiking buddies? I'm okay with someone also seeking solitude who wants to just have a similar itinerary so that we are at least in the same orbit. But I'm also happy to hike together and chat. Or perhaps, even on weekdays, there will be enough other people out there that I should be fine solo? I wouldn't have thought twice in my 20s, but I've grown more cautious with age...

Thanks for any tips or insights!

The last time I went backpacking was when I was a kid, so it's been awhile and this would also be my first time planning my own trip and not going on a trip someone planned for me.

I'm in decent shape and go hiking on day trips and stuff, but I'm not sure how well my endurance will do hiking days in a row with a backpack full of all my camp gear, so I want to pick an easy trip. Something probably 1 or 2 nights where I'll spend most of the day hiking for each day, but also be able to take breaks at my leisure and not have to be super stressed about making good time. I don't want to have to go super fast in order to make it to the camp site before it gets dark, I want to just hike, enjoy being in nature, and see some cool views.

Given this information, and the fact that I don't have a car and my parents don't have time to drive me too too far, what trips would you recommend that aren't too far a drive from Portland?

Posted about this a little bit ago; thought I’d revisit it since it’s getting much closer to my climb. I’m hoping to climb Adams via south route during the first weekend of June with a ‘rain date’ of the following weekend.

Currently, the forest service says there is about 4 miles of unmelted snow before the trailhead, but I’m aware that this season was historically dry and that it’s warming up. My trip is just over 3 weeks out now and I’m wondering potentially how I may look at that point

If anyone has experience doing this climb and can let me know what I might be able to expect, I’d really appreciate it (I’ll make it clear that I don’t mind if the trailhead isn’t entirely melted out, say a mile or two as I fully expect to take a night on the mountain)

Hi all!

I had been planning the Teton Crest Trail with some friends for our annual backpack but one of them had to go and get engaged for an August wedding (how dare he) so we need to push our trip up to early July and there's obviously no way to get new TCT permits for those dates. I'm looking for a backup route and am very intrigued by North Cascades. Always wanted to backpack in the PNW but do not claim to be well versed in the area.

I'm looking for a 30-50 mile route that can be done in about 4 days/3 nights give or take. My first choice would be Copper Ridge/Chilliwak River loop, but I understand that's closed due to fire damage and is a no go. I was looking at a Bridge Creek loop by way of McAlester Lake, Stehekin, before taking the PCT back to the Bridge Creek Trailhead. Maybe some time to detour to Rainbow Lake but I don't want to be overambitious.

Would that be a reasonable trip? Are there other routes I could be looking at that you'd recommend? And is anyone familiar with what the permit situation would be for that Bridge Creek loop?

Coming from out of town later this year and would love to do the loop as a two-nighter. However, only Deer Lake and Sol Duc Falls campgrounds have permits remaining. If I were to do Deer Lake the first night and Sol Duc Falls the second night, would that make for a strenuous second day since it’d be the majority of the loop? We’d like to take in the views and not just grind the miles.

We’re in pretty good shape so I’m not concerned about our ability to complete it. Just wondering if we’d still bring able to make it a type 1 fun trip or if we should look at other trails.

I am targeting Friday the 24th for an overnight someplace. I know I'll likely hit traffic going out, but in just doing one night and returning Saturday the 25th hope to avoid it on the return trip. Thinking anywhere reasonably melted out by this time of year. Wondering your suggestions/favorites. The idea is to avoid easily accessible, popular overnight destinations. Thanks!

It was my first time in Washington last summer for an internship and was honestly mind blown how beautiful the state was. I grew up in NYC and was never able to feel at home there. Came to Washington and did lots of outdoors activities (mainly hiking and mountain biking) and never felt so great.

Was fortunate enough to get a return offer and have so many hikes on my list. I took hiking and the mountains for granted while I was there and never realized how amazing it was until I went back to nyc and felt like a clumped tuna in a can.

I barely leave my room these days except for school and just can't wait to get out there again.

Also heard East Lake Sammamish trail has been completed so definitely gonna ride it out a few times. So excited!

Hey yall! Sorry if this is a dumb question or if it’s already been asked. Am I allowed to backcountry camp out around artist point? I read that you are allowed to park in the Lake Ann trailhead parking lot and leave your car there overnight if you go camp by lake ann. Can you also leave your car overnight in the artist point lot? Do you need a permit to camp out in that area? I looked online but couldn’t find anything about getting a permit. Since it’s national forest does that mean you can camp anywhere out there? And additional info would be super helpful. Thanks!

I tried for the permit, but failed. Am I able to simply park early AM, hike for the day, then leave? Or would I need a permit for that?

As the title suggests I’m trying to narrow down some options for a solo overnight backpacking trip this weekend thats a 2.5hr max drive from seattle. Preferably in the 12-18 miles range.

I was looking at some ONP options to avoid the snow but any suggestions would be welcome. Thanks!

Howdy pals! We're heading to goldmyer in a few weeks and are considering biking in. We've hiked in twice before, but are thinking biking will be much quicker/easier. Would love to hear your experiences ☺️ Thanks in advance!