Cascade Pass (formerly also known as Skagit Pass''North Cascades Highway'' Dedication Issue
, ''Washington Highways'' (Washington State Department of Transportation), September 1972, p. 4. Accessed online 12 September 2008.) is a mountain pass over the northern Cascade Range, east of

Marblemount, Washington Marblemount is a Census-designated places, census-designated place in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The population was 203 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is included in the Mount Vernon, Washington, Mount Vernon&ndash ...

, U.S. Although an important pass, providing the easiest connection from the Cascade River to the head of

Lake Chelan Lake Chelan ( ) is a narrow, long lake in Chelan County, north-central Washington state, U.S. Before 1927, it was the largest natural lake in the state by any measure. Upon the completion of Lake Chelan Dam in 1927, the elevation of the lake w ...

, it is now inside North Cascades National Park, and crossed by only a hiking trail. From the west, one reaches it by hiking an easy 3.5 mile trail from the end of the Cascade River Road (elev. ). From the east, it is accessible via a trail from Stehekin up the Stehekin River valley. The summit of the pass, being at the

tree line The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snow ...

, is known for its views in all directions. It is also a key departure point for mountaineering; to the north, the gentle ridge of the Sahale arm leads up

Sahale Mountain Sahale Mountain is a jagged, glaciated mountain, in North Cascades National Park, in northern Washington state. The summit of Sahale Mountain is referred to as Sahale Peak. It is south of its higher neighbor, Boston Peak, and the saddle betwee ...

to the summit, as well as to the meadows of Boston Basin and the summits above. To the south, Mixup Arm leads to Mixup Peak and Magic Mountain, as well as to Cache Col, making Cascade Pass the start of the high-level Ptarmigan Traverse. The pass was originally a major route for Native Americans trading between the coast and the interior. Among the first white men to explore and map the Skagit Pass was New York newspaperman Frank Wilkeson. Alexander Ross probably crossed the Cascades via Cascade Pass in 1814. His writings are too vague to be certain about his precise route.

Notes

References

Fred Beckey Friedrich Wolfgang Beckey (14 January 1923 – 30 October 2017), known as Fred Beckey, was an American rock climber, mountaineer and book author, who in seven decades of climbing achieved hundreds of first ascents of the tallest peaks and best ro ...

, '' Cascade Alpine Guide: Stevens Pass to Rainy Pass'', pp. 332–333 *

Harvey Manning Harvey Manning (July 16, 1925 in Ballard, Seattle, Washington - November 12, 2006 in Bellevue, Washington) was a noted author of hiking guides and climbing textbooks, and a tireless hiking advocate. Manning lived on Cougar Mountain, within the c ...

and Ira Spring, ''101 Hikes in the North Cascades'' (The Mountaineers, 1979), pp 80–81 {{Authority control Mountain passes of Chelan County, Washington Mountain passes of Washington (state) Mountain passes of the North Cascades North Cascades of Washington (state) Landforms of Skagit County, Washington North Cascades National Park Transportation in Chelan County, Washington Transportation in Skagit County, Washington