Tag Archives: Skyline Divide

The Cascade Range extends for 700 miles from Northern California to Southern British Columbia. It is a momentous mountain wonderland, with enough beauty spots to occupy many lifetimes of inspired wandering. But in my view, informed by decades of high-country rambling, the apex of all this high-mountain ecstasy can be found along the Mt. Baker Highway. Here are five special …

As I stumbled down the rocky Swift Creek Trail in the dark, every side creek, ravine, and small gully was simply gushing—all tumbling into Swift Creek in the valley bottom below.  Soon I would have to ford this creek at a notorious crossing, and my apprehension was on the rise—was it my imagination or did Swift Creek sound louder every …

After a quick burn on Galbraith or hike up in the North Cascades, Sarah Finger is likely to be the one across the bar from you slinging your après trail beer. But she also has a strong connection to that magnificent landscape you can’t stop staring at on the can of IPA you’re slugging down. She’s the artist who created …

It’s happened to all of us. You head up to Heliotrope Ridge or Lake Ann for a refreshing hike. At the trailhead, you hang your Northwest Forest Pass from your rearview mirror to show you paid for parking. Like a good citizen, you sign in at the trailhead, just in case. You write down how many are in your party …

Two years ago Abram Dickerson had a big idea. The previous autumn he had completed a 34 mile run on the Copper Ridge Loop —a spectacularly scenic trail in North Cascades National Park — and the experience had left him wanting more. So Dickerson, a transplant to the Pacific Northwest from northern California, created Aspire Adventure Running, an organization dedicated …

Of the two equinoxes – spring and fall – it’s the time around the autumnal equinox that I seem to photograph more.  As summer hands off to fall, and the kids are back in school, my ‘backcountry brethren’ and I head to the North Cascades for our annual backpack adventure. It’s an egalitarian time of the year, with all the world having the same …

Each summer there are a few weeks when Skyline Divide may be the most beautiful place on earth. It is at this time – the apex of summer – that the wildflower gardens carpeting the Divide burst forth in a display of alpine color that is among the best in the North Cascades. The trail meanders along the ridge, offering …