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North Cascades National Park

A week of hiking and camping in Washington State

· Washington,National Parks

The internship begins

My internship here at the Spring Street International School lead to me visiting the North Cascades National Park. The school does a yearly backpacking trip for one week in the fall. The entire school goes out in small groups for a few days, before coming together as one big group the final night.

It was my first time out here, and the park quickly became one of my favorites. The hikes were challenging, but the views made it all worth the struggle. Below are some pictures of my time there, broken up into groups by which trail they are from.

Trails

Thunder Knob: This trail was our shortest hike at just 3.6 miles round trip. From the highest point, we got a good lunchtime view of Diablo Lake. It's got some elevation gain, but compared to other trails, it's a fairly easy hike.

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Maple Loop, this is by far one of the most beautiful and challenging trails I've done thus far. The trail started with a steep incline through the woods for a few miles, before giving us a fantastic view of the lakes. On the way down the trail was a less steep, and we enjoyed the fantastic scenery as we descended.

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Blue Lake: A fairly relaxing hike compared to the day before. This short 4.4-mile trail (round trip) takes you up to Blue Lake where you can enjoy the beautiful water and see some rock climbers nearby. Really great place to relax, eat lunch and read a book for a while.

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Overlook

Washington Pass Overlook: This overlook offers some amazing views of the mountains and highway 20 below. It's fairly accessible and there is plenty of parking there.

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