Devils Dome and a Lightning Storm

Posted on January 9, 2022 by Andy Porter

The trip started at Highway 20. My friend dropped the three of us off at the trail head and we ascended up through Devils Garden along the Jackita Ridge Trail. We were on a 12 day trip, heading north, along the Pacific Crest Trail, near the Canadian border, west to Ross Lake and south, back to the highway.

The trail afforded many wonderful views of Jack Mountain.

We arrived atop Devils Dome late in the afternoon and set up camp. Though we were atop the peak snow fields nearby supplied us with water.

The sunset was magnificent, but we watched it from inside our tent mesh because the mosquitoes were ravenous.

Devils Dome affords a 360 degree view of Jack Mountain, to the south, Hozomeen to the north.

The glaciated peaks of North Cascades National Park rose to the west and a broad expanse of the Pasayten lay to the east.

After a wonderful dinner we quickly went to sleep excited about the beauty tomorrow promised.

Something woke me up. I lay for a moment with eyes closed, sensing. There was a stillness, which was odd seeing that I was camped on a mountain top, and the smell of rain in the air. Suddenly opening my eyes I saw that the sky was clouded over. I lay for another moment reluctantly picturing myself getting up and putting the rain fly on the tent when I saw the flicker of lightning in the eastern sky. I sat up looking…there was another flash…and another.

Quickly exiting the tent I stood scanning the sky. There was lightning to the east…then to the south, then again, to the west…the dark tumultuous sky was alive with flashes, the peaks briefly illuminated and then again black shapes…I looked on in wonder…and then it stated raining.

I quickly awoke my two companions and let them know that they needed to get up, get dressed and get out of the tent and give me a hand. At first they were both saying, “why don’t you just put on the rain fly and get back in, go back to sleep…” and I replied that if they stayed in the tent that they would miss the lightning show…that provided sufficient motivation and they were soon out of the tent, looking at the skies. The lightning was getting more intense, more frequent…we could see the glow of a fire to the west, over towards Ross Lake and the National Park boundary.

My plan was simple: get the rain fly on the tent, throw all our stuff in it, don our rain gear and then lie on the grass and watch the show. But my two friends had other ideas. One strongly advised that we immediately depart and head down the mountain to find shelter from the lightning. My other friend insisted on a more simple approach: do nothing and simply enjoy the storm. I started with the rain fly and loading the tent and soon they came to assist me.

Someone came up with the idea of planting our trekking poles in the ground, well away from the tent, to act as lightning rods (!). And so, now somewhat content with our preparations, we all watched.

On three sides of us there were regular flashes, every few seconds, another, and then another. The wind and rain continued unabated. In fact they increased along with the regularity of the lightning, each building to a crescendo. The lightning now seemed to take on a reddish hue, then green or blue (was it just my imagination?)

Transfixed by the sheer beauty, we had front row seats for nature’s own fireworks show, the best we had ever seen. Just as I was starting to edge towards getting the hell out of there the tempest began to lessen, the wind shifted. The lightning to the west, which seemed to head towards us, stopped.

And that was it! The storm cell had passed us by. The lightning to the east faded out and in its place we could now see the faint hint of the sun.

The date was 08/08/08. This was the opening night of the Olympics in Beijing, and we mused that the fireworks we had just seen surpassed theirs, hands down. It was also the scheduled date for the startup of the Large Hadron Collider and we considered that the lightning storm was a direct result of the resultant black holes now devouring earth. These points we avidly debated, but all agreed that the peak was rightly named: Devils Dome.

As the excitement died down my friends retired to sleep and I ventured forth to catch some of the morning light.

The Pasayten Wilderness is one of my favorite places in Washington, a land of mountains and rivers, steep valleys and meadows, wildflowers and Zen like peace. This experience was on day 6 of our twelve day trek which started at the Canyon Creek Trail head on the North Cascades Highway.

Our journey was just getting started…

Jackita Ridge Trail, Devil’s Dome and the Three Fools Trail

Posted on December 29, 2018 by Andy Porter

One of the most fabulous backpacking loops I have ever done was in the Pasayten Wilderness.

We began at Canyon Creek trailhead, along Highway 20, hiked up the Jackita Ridge Trail, visited Devils Dome, then connected with the Pacific Crest Trail at Holman Pass and headed north. At Castle Pass we took the Three Fools Trail west, to Ross Lake, where we got the water taxi to Ross Dam and hitchhiked back home.

Here are a few pics from the trip.

Sunset atop Devils Dome, Pasayten Wilderness, North Cascades

This first one is a sunset from atop Devils Dome. We spent the night there, (08/08/08) and were observers of a spectacle of lightning storms that swept through that night, starting innumerable fires throughout the park. Like three fools we stayed there, atop the Devils Dome, mouths agape, as the night sky erupted and just watched.

Jack Mountain from Devils Dome, Pasayten Wilderness, North Cascades

This is Jack Mountain, from Devils Dome. Hiking in the Pasayten Wilderness is wonderful, lots of views and flowers.

Cascade Crest from Jackita Ridge Trail, Pasayten Wilderness

This was taken from the Jackita Ridge Trail, looking west – southwest. That long green meadow inviting you is Devils Garden.

Here is another view from the trail.

Jack Mountain, Pasayten Wilderness

After Devils Dome we made our way to Holman Pass where we intersected the PCT and turned north. The image on the right is from a glorious meadow (with a spring) just before Rock Pass. And the Double Rainbows is at Rock Pass looking north. That’s Lakeview Ridge stretching to the distance.

: Double Rainbows at Rock Pass, Pasayten Wilderness

: Pacific Crest Trail, Pasayten Wilderness

The wildflowers are all over (assuming you’re there at the right time!)

The Three Fools Trail was a struggle. It hadn’t been maintained in more that a decade, there were more than 200 down trees between Elbow Basin and Three Fools Creek…it was brutal!

The sunsets, however, were magnificent. This is from Elbow Basin.

The Three Fools Trail lived up to its hype: Stunning scenery, no one to be seen anywhere and you’d have to be a fool to try!

Big Face Mountain from the Three Fools Trail, Pasayten Wilderness

Here is Big Face Mountain from the trail.

Ross Lake from the Lightning Creek Trail, North Cascades National Park

and lastly, Ross Lake, from the Lightning Creek Trail.

That was my first visit to the section of the PCT from Holman Pass, north to the border with Canada. I have revisited several times, access is not bad, at Slate Peak. You can park at a junction with the PCT, at 7,000 ft elevation to start your hike!

The views along Lakeview Ridge are to die for…that will be the subject of the next post!

Oh, the hitchhiking home part: When we debarked the water taxi and hiked up to Highway 20 we were more than a bit surprised to see hordes of cops. Not just regular ones, Border Patrol, guys in kevlar with nasty weapons, the place was swarming with them!

Eventually one of the cops came over to ID us sketchy looking hitchhikers and being polite and all the cop arranged a ride for us home. It turned out that a Park Employee had stumbled upon a huge marijuana farm, right there, near Ross Lake! So they came up with the swat team and got boats and went to raid the pot farm, but by the time they got there, the farmers had fled to parts unknown…

Best Fall Hikes in the North Cascades

Posted on July 11, 2017 by Andy Porter

I regularly get requests from magazines asking for images, they specify which places, season, weather, or what ever fits their plans for upcoming issues. If you have any good images of say, Crater Lake at night, then you submit, if they like, your image gets published.

Best Fall Hikes, or October Hikes was one of the categories needed.

I love fall colors, love the lack of bugs and the crisp air for hiking. Its funny, in early July just when access to the high country is about to start, to be thinking ahead to fall. But I spent two days locating and editing images…

Best Fall Hikes in the North Cascades

The North Cascades offer a unique version of fall, The Larch. The mountain larch, or Tamarack, looks like a regular evergreen in the spring or summer, but in early October the needles turn bright orange, and then fall off.

The effect is stunning. The sharp orange, interspersed with greens and browns, maybe a few white clouds in an bright blue sky…are you getting the idea? Its a color junkies dream.

All of these hikes are along (or close to) the Cascade Loop. Check their web site for lots of ideas of more adventures, as well as food/lodging.

Here are the 3 Best Fall Hikes in the North Cascades

The Enchantments

How can you not start with the Enchantments? This is one of the most magical places to hike anywhere in the world. And in early October it just explodes. If you go, plan to spend several days. You’ll not soon forget it! Yes, its a pain to get a permit, and yes, it is a brutal approach to get up and into the Core of the Enchantments with photo gear and 5 days of food, but who ever said Perfection Lake was easily attained? Book a night or two at the Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort in Leavenworth to aid your recovery!

Here are a few images from a recent October trip.

: Colchuck Lake from Aasgard Pass

: Prusik Peak and Gnome Tarn

: Goats

: Isolation Lake – Upper Enchantments

: Crystal Lake

: Prusik Peak and Gnome Tarn

: Perfection Lake and Prusik Peak

: Isolation Lake – Upper Enchantments

: Prusik Peak and Gnome Tarn

: Perfection Lake and Larch

The next Best Fall Hike is another local favorite. Early October weekends will find this trail head packed to overflowing, with cars out along both sides of Highway 20.

Blue Lake and Washington Pass

Larch seem to like an elevation around 6,000 to 8,000 feet. You can see them here draped like a necklace over the neck line of Liberty Bell. Washington Pass, located on the North Cascades Highway offers spectacular views of Liberty Bell Mountain and the north side of Early Winter Spires.

The Blue Lake trail, located about a quarter mile from Washington Pass Overlook, is a short, moderate trail which skirts along the base and then along the back side of the monolith. Once you get to Blue Lake the views back to Early Winter Spires are impossibly beautiful.

: Liberty Bell from the Washington Pass Overlook

: Liberty Bell from the Washington Pass Overlook

: Liberty Bell from the Washington Pass Overlook

: Blue Lake

: Liberty Bell and Early Winter Spires

: Liberty Bell and Early Winter Spires

: Liberty Bell and Early Winter Spires

: Liberty Bell and Early Winter Spires over Blue Lake

Finally for the 3rd Best Fall Hikes in the North Cascades…This last one is a bit further afield, its a long drive over to Eastern Washington, up through Omak, north of Tonasket and on to the Pasayten Wilderness. But the trail, though long, has minimal elevation change and the payoff, at Upper Cathedral Lake will only make you want to stay longer.

Upper Cathedral Lake, Pasayten Wilderness

In some places you’ll find Larch, often interspersed with other trees. Sort of sprinkled about. But here in the Upper Cathedral Lakes basin its almost solid larch. and as you are imagining, its like someone lit the place on fire.The trail takes you up to Sunny Pass, through Horseshoe Basin and along the Boundary Trail (the Canada Border is a stones throw away). This section of the trail is also part of the much longer Pacific Northwest Trail.

: Horseshoe Basin

: Windy Peak

: Trail below Cathedral Peak

: Cathedral Peak and Pass

: Amphitheater Mountain

: Amphitheater Mountain

: Remmel Mountain

: Road to Iron Gate Trail head, going in

: Road to Iron Gate Trail head, going out

Pasayten Wilderness Wildflowers

Posted on July 18, 2016 by Andy Porter

The Pasayten Wilderness is more than 500,000 acres of splendor: lush meadows, rugged peaks, sweeping vistas, deep valleys, thick forests and wildflowers…lots of wildflowers!

July brings an explosion of color, thickets of flowers bursting aloud, the bright colors of Indian Paint Brush and Lupine off setting each other in grand style.

Here, see what I mean:

These images are from a trip along the trail to Sunny Pass. From Tonasket take the road to Loomis, ascend along the Toats Coulee Road to the Iron Gate Trailhead and Camp. The flowers start not far from the trips start!

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Pasayten Panoramas: I love larches!

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Andy Porter

These 4 shots are all from a trip I took to the Pasayten Wilderness 2 years ago. I went over 4 days in the first week of October to see the larch turn bright orange. What a sight!
Each shot is two images stitched using CS 6 Photomerge. Before I merged them I opened the two shots as RAW images, synchronized them, and made slight changes to exposure, lens aberration and then using brushes made mods to the highlights/shadows. Once merged I tweaked them a little, but not much. Overall I am pretty happy with them, they are a HUGE improvement over my earlier efforts.

These first two are Amphitheater Mountain from just east of Cathedral Pass. Interesting how the larch form a band across the slopes…

These last two are from the other side of Cathedral Pass, near Upper Cathedral Lake. This trail, known as the Boundary Trail (it runs parallel to the Canada border) is a part of the Pacific Northwest Trail.

A Stormy Night Atop Devils Dome

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Andy Porter

We arrived atop Devils Dome late in the afternoon and set up camp.
Though we were atop the peak snow fields nearby supplied us with water. The sunset was magnificent, but we watched it from inside our tent mesh because the mosquitoes were ravenous.
Devils Dome affords a 360 degree view of Jack Mountain, to the south, Hozomeen to the north, The glaciated peaks of North Cascades National Park to the west and a broad expanse of the Pasayten to the east.

After a wonderful dinner we quickly went to sleep excited about the beauty tomorrow promised.

Some one came up with the idea of planting our trekking poles in the ground, well away from the tent, to act as lightning rods (!). And so, now somewhat content with our preparations, we all watched.

The rain started to come down now. The wind picked up, strong gusts blowing across the summit. The flashes became more insistent, more frequent. With each flash the ridges between us suddenly appeared out of darkness, and then…gone back to my imagination, leaving lasting imprints of what had just been illuminated. From our vantage point we could see what looked like 6 or so fires burning…

On three sides of us there were regular flashes, every few seconds, another, and then another. The wind and rain continued unabated. In fact they increased along with the regularity of the lightning, each building to a crescendo. The lightning now seemed to take on a reddish hue, then green or blue (was it just my imagination?)

Transfixed by the sheer beauty, we had front row seats for natures own fireworks show, the best we had ever seen. Just as I was starting to edge towards getting the hell out of there the tempest began to lessen, the wind shifted. The lightning to the west, which seemed to head towards us, stopped.

And that was it! The storm cell had passed us by. The lightning to the east faded out and in its place we could now see the faint hint of the sun.

The date was 08/08/08. This was the opening night of the Olympics in Bejing, and we mused that the fireworks we had just seen surpassed theirs, hands down. It was also the scheduled date for the start up of the Large Hadron Collider and we considered that the lightning storm was a direct result of the resultant black holes now devouring earth. These points we avidly debated, but all agreed that the peak was rightly named: Devils Dome.

As the excitement died down my friends retired to sleep and I ventured forth to catch some of the morning light.

The Pasayten Wilderness is one of my favorite places in Washington, a land of mountains and rivers, steep valleys and meadows, wildflowers and zen like peace. This experience, on day 6 of our twelve day trek which started at the Canyon Creek Trail head on the North Cascades Highway.

Our journey was just getting started…

Pasayten Wilderness, Summer and Fall

Posted on November 22, 2013 by Andy Porter

I had the good fortune to make it to the Upper Cathedral Lakes Basin twice in one year! The views of Cathedral Peak and Amphitheater Mountain are stunning. When I visited in summer I noted the abundance of larch and so returned in fall to see the color explosion. Here are some images showcasing the changes between July 14th and October 2nd.

These last two images were both taken while on the October trip, the first on the way in and the second, from the same spot, on the way home!

Fall Colors, Larches, Cathedral Peak and Amphitheater Mountain

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Andy Porter

The rain has set in and the days are short. Avoiding boredom necessitates a little creativity, which for me includes revisiting past hikes, editing images and trying to fashion a reasonable representation of a place.

The approach is from Tonasket, west to Loomis and then up the Toats Coulee Road to the Iron Gate Trail head.

The sky was blue and trees bright.
Iron Gate Trail Head Trees

The trip along the Boundary Trail (Doubling as the Pacific Northwest Trail) offer long vistas, green forests and in early October, brilliant orange larch.
Boundary Trail

Windy Peak

The trail is a lot of fun, the old Tungsten Mine is an interesting place to explore, and Apex Pass provides sweeping views of Remmel Mountain and the east side the of Amphitheater Mountain.
Remmel Mountain
The larch inhabit a band between 6,000 and 7,000 feet of elevation.
Amphitheater Mountain

Arriving at Cathedral Pass its a short stroll down to water and reflective views!
Cathedral Pass
Not a bad place to camp!
Cathedral Peak

Amphitheater Mountain, Reflected in a snow-melt pond

Heading down a little ways to Upper Cathedral Lake just before sunset provides all you need for a true orgy of picture taking!

Back up at the camp site the setting sun made the trees look even more afire!

The sensory overload was fun!

The hike back provided more changes in colors…

The trees along the road had a decidedly different look after only 4 days…

Wildflowers of the Pasayten Wilderness

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Andy Porter

The Pasayten Wilderness is located in Washington State along the Canadian Border. Stretching east from Ross Lake the mountains here are drier than the North Cascades National Park, on the other side of the lake. Long ridges, endless meadows filled with wildflowers and solitude is what you’ll find here in the Pasayten.
Here are a few images from an earlier trip…cant wait until July when I’ll be headed back out there on another long trek…
Pasayten Wilderness Wildflowers on the Pacific Crest Trail