Cascade Pass and Sahale Arm — Friday, Jul. 16, 1999

North Cascades > North Cascades Highway - Hwy 20

Arrived at Marblemount Ranger Station at 8:30 AM and got the last permit for Sahale Arm. Boston Basin permits were already gone. The Cascade River Road is in great shape. There is a lot of snow at the trailhead, and the trail can be hard to follow, but after five minutes the snow disappears and the trail is visible. There are a few minor blowdowns. Snow starts again at the top of the switchbacks and is almost continuous to Cascade Pass. The first few steps of the Sahale Arm trail have melted out, then there is solid snow until the ridge is gained. The meadows are beautiful, with small snow patches surrounded by green grass and scurrying marmots. Only one crack was spotted on the glacier. There's a boot track ot the summit. Got fogged out, rained on, and hailed on Saturday night. Sunday morning was sunny and hot. The view from camp dramatically illustrated the west-side / east-side weather patterns of the Cascades: the west side of Cascade Pass was socked in with low clouds all day Saturady and most of Sunday; the east side of the pass was cloud free Saturday night and all day Sunday.