Just got back from a great weekend full of mountain flowers, snow capped peaks of the Pasayten Wilderness in northern Washington State. My hiking buddy Mike has always wanted to explore this area just south of Manning Park, BC. and suggested a loop from Slate Peak to Harts Pass. What a perfect weekend for it, the weather was perfect and the flowers we at their peak. Thanks to Mike for taking the photos of me in action.
The weather started off a little cloudy to the North, but we were starting in the forested valley floor below and we knew the weather was going to clear up and be perfect over the next 3 days. Our first destination was to find a campsite near the Holman junction. We started out at 1PM and found a great site at 5:30pm.
The next morning we started out at about 8 am and headed towards Holman pass with the connection to the PCT. From here we were only about 15 miles from Canada, and we started passing a few very happy NoBo PCT’s at the end of their big adventure.
We worked our way up a very nice well graded trail from the valley floor to the ridge that would take us to our camp just below Jim’s Peak. The only concern we had was water and we ended up carrying an extra 3 liters, made for a very heavy pack but it was better than not finding a good water source. We did find a good one just before the climb to the Devil’s Backbone, and a small stream about 1 mile from camp.
I took the advantage of another clear night and slept without the fly on my tent. Was glorious watching the bright stars as I fell asleep.
Our last day on the trail, and what a great day. Flowers, Larch, meadows, peaks and a great trail.
It was so quiet and peaceful in this rugged landscape and not another soul around. We were surprised by the great condition of the trail and the recent dead fall clearing. The Pasayten Wilderness is a hidden gem. Best part is that you don’t have to go into a lottery for permits, just walk up and grab one at the trailhead. We were also surprised by the abundance of Lach Trees, and need to come back in the fall to witness the golden needles.
Here is a link to my Gaia GPS of the trip.
