Cutthroat Pass via Cutthroat Lake, Cutthroat Lake — Friday, Jul. 11, 2025

We arrived at the trailhead below Washington Pass around 12. We really got the eastern Cascade experience for the first ~1.2 miles of trail, dust and open sun with high air temps (although my Californian hiking companion laughed at me for complaing about 80 degree weather). The sunlit section of the lake trail winds through huckleberry and blueberry patches, with just-barely-ripe berries. After that, we passed through shady woodland all the way to the lake, seeing columbine, butterflies, and some interesting indian pipe-looking flowers that were, unfortunately, run over by a biker before blooming. It’s a dangerous life for a flower.

The lake itself is clear, quiet, and full of little trout. We hiked down to swim in it every day. The bugs weren’t bad during the day, but if you are a bug repellent wearer, remember to keep out of the water. Otherwise, it’s a great swimming spot.

We camped up in the basin ~1-1.5 miles below the pass, which was a bit less windy. We had a perfect spot overlooking the lake, but that whole basin has a few established sites with log benches and stone firepits, which can’t be used due to the summer burn ban. There were several easy trees for hanging bear lines, but the nearest water was over the pass or down by the lake. The bugs got pretty bad after 6 pm or so until full dark, but I wouldn’t call that unusual. I left with about 15-20 bites after 2 nights, which feels like a normal number for the North Cascades in July. I’m not a mosquito magnet, though, so keep that in mind if you are worried about being bitten.

The wildflowers and heather are in bloom up near the pass, and my entomologist companion was very enthusiastic about the bugs. The avalanche liles are all just barely past, but we saw paintbrush, partridgefoot, penstemmon, and a funky lousewort-looking thing. The west side of the pass looks completely different from the east, so it is well worth hiking to the top and looking over.