Pacific Crest Trail

In the late aughts during mid-summer, I was vacationing in North Central Washington. On a cool, sunny morning my old friend George and I drove to a 6,800-foot trailhead on the Pacific Crest Trail. It was about 1 1/2 miles north of Harts Pass.

I had not hiked this portion of the PCT before, but had read that many hikers believe the stretch north to Windy Pass is the best wildflower trek in the Cascades. Now that I’ve done the hike, I’m not going to argue with them. It’s a beautiful alpine area and the three-mile hike to Windy Pass remains in alpine meadows for the entire distance with wildflowers in abundance.

Canadian Border

Upon reaching Windy Pass we entered into the Pasayten Wilderness, about 15 raven-flying miles south of the Canadian border. But, before entering the Wilderness, we hiked to a yurt used by heli-skiers in the winter. This made a fine place to eat lunch and enjoy the views.

Then we returned to the Trail and hiked one-half mile north for grand vistas of Windy Basin and the Pasayten Peaks. What an impressive area! It brought back fond memories of hunting and hiking trips into the Pasayten when I was a young whippersnapper.

What a nice day!