Cascade Pass in Washington, located in North Cascades National Park is EPIC! But the true gold is Sahale Arm. Doing both regards having an exceptionally long day, but the views are so worth it!!!
I literally took my sweet time on this hike, lollygagging around and made it out before dark. I started around 8 am and made it out before 9 pm. But like I said, I was laying around up on top, taking hundreds of photos and videos, veered off trail more times than I can count, and just had a great day! So you don’t have to spend 13 hours on this trail like I did. If you hustled, you could probably make it out with in 6 or 7 hours.
I met two awesome hikers on this hike and we had a great time! Saw some mountain goats, and some of the best mountain landscapes I have ever seen. Very recommendable!!!!!!
So to get to Sahale arm, which is a must do, you have to hike on top of Cascade Pass first. Most people turn around at this spot. But trust me, you don’t want to. Keep going! You get to Cascade Pass, enjoy a really good view, and then turn left (where the trail keeps going.) In just a 100 feet or less, this path will start to turn right and at this point, you will see a trail on your left hand side. You can’t miss it. This is Sahale Arm. It is an extra 4 mile hike, RT (round-trip.) 2 miles up, and 2 miles down. But the extra two miles up-hill are so worth the view. You almost forget how bad your legs hurt! And once you reach the top, you know the rest of the hike is literally down-hill from there.
The hike itself up to Cascade pass is 3.7 miles long. So if you are just doing Cascade Pass, that is 7.4 miles RT and if you want to do, Sahale Arm, you add an extra 4 miles RT.
I can’t believe I made it all the way up here!!!!!
If you do not have hiking poles, I recommend it for this hike particularly. I usually don’t use them and I was so thankful I brought them on this hike! It’s kind of brutal, but also not that bad. It is doable. The walk from the start to Cascade Pass is not that difficult. It’s up-hill the whole way, but it is not steep. Sahale Arm is where it gets more tough. The last two miles is a grueling straight up-hill.
When you hike up Sahale arm, you visit an alpine lake and get so high you can see over most mountains. There are campsites up here but you have to reserve them! There is a park ranger office near-by to get the permit. This place is great to camp at! And if you camp here, you don’t have to do the whole hike all in one day! Probably the best camping spot I have ever seen in my life. If you want a topo, you can get one here of the area.
Directions:
To get to the TH (trail head), google maps will actually bring you right there if you type in Cascade Pass. Just make sure you do it when you are in reception and then keep it on till you get there. It is very easy to find.
How to get there. From the West (Seattle). Take Highway 20. Drive East to Marblemount. When you reach Marblemount, Highway 20 will veer left. You want to stay straight and go on Cascade River Road. You will follow this dirt road for 23 miles to the end. This part of the drive will take about an hour because the road isn’t that well-maintained. Park at the trail head and have a great hike!
If you like to be above tree-line and have great views of the surrounding mountains, this is your hike! Just make sure you don’t go too early in the summer. I went at the end of July and there was still snow lurking up at the end of the hike. Take care and have a great time!
Hope you enjoyed this article! You can also check out the video below!!
Hope you enjoyed 🙂
Sincerely,
Shelly/Livingonthedirt
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