Purple Pass — Tuesday, Jul. 31, 2012

Central Cascades > Entiat Mountains/Lake Chelan

I went without a night's sleep so as to be on Boulder Butte, 7372', for the sunrise. And it was worth nearly six hours of hiking in the dark to see the growing morning light and alpenglow on the peaks around the Stehekin Valley and Lake Chelan. The trail was easy to follow with a head lamp, and a near full moon added to the illumination. Since this was an old route to a former lookout, the grade was almost constant but long--about 16.5 miles roundtrip from my starting point in Stehekin, with a whopping 6300' of gain. In places the trail was overgrown and thin with several blowdowns, but many had been cleared up to around 4000'. For a hiker who is mostly on summits in the glare of early afternoon, this was a treat. And I had the mountain to myself for the whole trip, 10.5 hours. From Purple Pass, be sure to add the extra half mile to the top of Boulder Butte for the big views. A memorable night and day!