Well, bouded by not knowing where the rain would fall, and not having ever been in the pasayten, headed up to Horseshoe basin just out of Loomis. The drive from Seattle took around 8 hours, but we stopped and tromped though the meadows of Washington Pass. The bog flats right opposite the highway of the base of Liberty Bell, was a breath taking layout of forest, ice and rock. From there the road up to Iron Gate from Loomis was not bad, paved, and then the Iron Gate, with ruts, but Joe and I creaped his neon all the way to the trailhead at Iron Gate. Unless you have a low rider, and not familiar with Mountain Roads, the warnings against the road were overated. We arrived at the trail had at about 9pm, In the beginning the trail followed a wooded ridgeline with small stands of trees soo thick, it reminded me of tales of the Black Forest, once crossed a creek about 1 mile in, the trail began a realively light accent to the base of a pass (can't remember the name of this pass at the moment) but the elevation gain was not bad at all just above 1000 ft over about 4 miles. At this time the it was dark, and the head lamps went on. The trail is a good night hinking trail, due to the open nature of the high county meadows (looking more like pasture). We accended to the pass and set up camp. The wind was cool, but the Basin Spread out before me, and Arnold Mountain and beyond were in clear view. Now what we found in the morning was a prime example on changing weather in the North Cascades. We awoke to about 3 to 4 inchs of Snow. The pass was in a white out condition. Due to the ruts on the road, and not wanting to push the car out of each one of them, we turned back. Once below 6500 feet the snow began to melt, and it was clear that we could have porably waited out the storm. But oh well. My take on this trail is that if you are a beginning backpacker, or just want the ability to wonder high meadows, without breaking your back over ridges that lay in the Western Part of the State, then this is the trail for you. It is great for packing in, establishing a basecamp and roaming. I will definatly head back again towards the close of the season to fully explore this area. Mountain Wanderer, Jorj Aldair

We arrived at Iron Gate in the afternoon, with no precipitation and generally dry conditions. Our intention was to hike into Sunny Pass, put down camp for a couple of nights and explore some of Horseshoe Basin. About two miles in, we hiked into a significant snow fall - which continued most of the way to the basin below Sunny Pass. As we approached the 4 mile point, we became very aware of the strong NNE winds in the tops of the trees. The trail is in good condition, with only one small remnant of avalanche snow across the trail at about mile 3.5 - it required only a few steps to cross. We chose to camp in the basin just short of Sunny Pass to avoid the wind that was roaring across Horseshoe Basin and the low cloud that obscured Sunny Pass - and found a very comfortable camp with some clear ground at about 6,950 - even though most of the area was covered with about 6"" new snow. Wednesday we awoke to brilliant sunshine on Pick Mountain, blue skies beyond - and still air - with a temperature of about 28 deg F. The roaming up through Sunny and environs was very pleasant - although best accomplished out of the snow filled trails which were running with melt water under several inches of rather wet new snow. The flowers have begun to bloom and by afternoon Wednesday the new snow fall had melted sufficiently around camp for many to show through the snow again. By Thursday morning, most of the snow had melted, and we had another dry and beautiful day - with only some high clouds - for our afternoon hike back to the vehicle.

This really is a great hike; probably one of the best I have ever been on. Jagged peaks are few, and the ones you see are far away, but the feeling of being in such high rolling meadow land is absolutely incredible. But, good god is the drive long from the Seattle area! We started out at about 6:30 Wednesday morning to drive the North Cascades Highway Route to Okanogan. We stopped a few times to admire the incredible mountain scenery along the highway, and also to get lunch in Omak. Because of this, and generally relaxed driving, the trip took about 7 and a half hours. I think it would take about 6 if you drove straight there, but what's the point' Most of the way is on very good paved roads (see a guidebook and/or a map for exact directions; it’s a little involved and you must choose your preferred route) except for the last six miles to Irongate Trailhead. This is on a sparsely maintained dirt road. It is only the last three miles of this road that are any worse than most mountain roads. Moderatly high clearance is necessary if you don't want the bottom of your car to get scratched up a little bit. I drove it in my 1978 Oldse boat of a car. It got a little scratched up, but I don't care. Don't bring nice cars up here. Four wheel drive isn't necessary as the road isn't terribly steep. Just go very slow and pay lots of attention to the road. When we got to the trailhead, there was a gigantic group of people just sitting there! (actually we didn't see that many people, but there were 20 to 30 backpacks just laying around) We didn't encounter this group on the trail (thank god). This is the Pasayten Wilderness and the group size limit is 12. We still don't know what the group was doing there. For a trail that's so far away from major population centers, this one is very well maintained. It starts out on an old road that looks more driveable than the one you just drove on. It first passes through a meadow ablaze with wildflowers (paintbrush, lupine, and lots more). The trail then enters incredibly dense lodgepole pine forest that completely blocks out views for miles. This is the hard part of the trip, especially on a hot day. There is nothing to inspire you. The trail soon crosses a creek (last water until near Sunny Pass). The road gradually turns into a trail (I would be hard pressed to say where the road stops and the trail begins). Finally, you enter meadows as you climb to Sunny Pass with views of Windy Peak. This trail appears to have been made for horses so the grade is gentle all the way from the trailhead. As you contour away from Sunny Pass, the long drive and boring hiking immediately become worth it. The open, alpine meadow scenery is truly inspiring. I would suggest continuing to either Horseshoe Pass or Louden Lake before camping as there is more shelter from the frequent strong winds in the area. When you come to the junction at Horseshoe Pass, take a right on the lesser used trail just a few yards and then walk to the right to a clump of healthy Engleman Spruce. Here is a perfect heavily used campsite next to a creek. If this one is occupied, there is at least one more like it a little further up the trail. There is a fire ring at the site, but don't start fires, there is nothing in the area to burn that isn't alive. Also, don't camp on meadows unless you absolutely have to, if then, don't camp in wet meadows. It took my friend and I about 3 and a half hours to walk to our campsite at Horseshoe Pass. We weren't walking fast and we stopped frequently to admire the scenery. I would not suggest dayhiking to Horseshoe Basin. The sunrise and sunset weren't particularly fiery, but, to fully appreciate the scenery, you must see it in different lighting. Also, there is an infinite amount of exploring to do. This was our goal for Thursday morning. We got up just after sunrise and packed up our stuff and then took off to experience the basin. Bring water, a sweater (because of cold winds), and a camera of course. Also, you must have a map and compass so you don’t get lost in the sometimes featureless terrain. First we took the main trail to Louden Lake (really just a large pond). There are some more great campsites here on the opposite side of the lake. We then struck out off trail to climb Armstrong Mountain. The climb up meadows is fairly steep (but not technical at all) Also, the elevation (7000-8000 feet) will probably get to you a little bit if you live near sea level. The best views of the Louden Lake area of the basin are from a little less than halfway up Armstrong. We made it to a false summit on the south side of the large mountain and descended slightly to a pile of rocks in a saddle for protection from the wind. From here on, the immediate scenery is completely alpine with very low growing plants and only a couple of the smallest “trees” you can imagine (only about a foot high). After a rest, we continued north to a saddle between the two peaks. We first scrambled up the one to the west to stand by the 103rd Boundary marker between the US and Canada. Yes we hiked to Canada. We then walked across the nearly flat, windswept basin above 8000 feet to the other peak (a little higher still) which had a large cairn on it. The views west to the rest of the Pasayten Wilderness were incredible. The Cathedral Peak area was the closest and most obvious. Even the main crest of the cascades was visible in the incredibly clean, dry air of this area. We even saw what we think was Mt. Baker! I checked it out on my TOPO! maps program when I got home and it would be technically possible to see the upper third of Baker from where we were; 90 miles away. Wow. From this summit, you could wander a tundra ridge far into Canada to even higher mountains. We descended on the opposite (East) side of Armstrong Peak to Snehumption Gap between Armstrong and Arnold Peaks. This side was a little steeper and was a little nerve racking going down and would be hard on the thighs going up. We stayed near the northern jagged crest because it looked a little easier. If you don't have the time or energy to climb a peak, go to this gap. The scenery here is nearly as alpine as from the peak. From the gap, it appears that you could descend north into a glacier carved basin with a beautiful stand of subalpine larch. A path leads from the gap back towards Horseshoe Pass (you wouldn’t be able to find it from Horseshoe, just go cross country). This pretty much wrapped up our wanderings for the morning. We went back to the Pass and packed up camp. We then hiked back to the parking lot on already sore feet. As always the car was a beautiful sight. This hike is very do-able for almost anyone who has ever backpacked 5 miles before. It is definitely worth it in my opinion despite the long and partly rough drive to the trailhead. (I don’t think the drive from the Vancouver B.C. area would be nearly as long) Bring LOTS of water later in the summer. There should always be a water source somewhere but many of them dry up. It can also be very hot, or very cold, or very windy, or all three at once here in mid-summer.

After a six hour drive from Seattle, we arrived at the trailhead ready to get out of the car and hike. To get there, we drove to Winthrop, and then took forest service roads 37 and 39 to Iron Gate Road. This is different than most books describe, and is quite scenic. But it takes just as long as driving to Omak and then Loomis, and I actually recommend the latter, since it is all pavement and the drive from Winthrop to the trailhead is 2.5 hours on dirt road. A note about Iron Gate Road. It is 6.4 miles from the road beginning to the trailhead, and it is the bumpiest road I've ever been on. We were in a small car, but I seriously don't recommend driving it with anything other than a four wheel drive vehicle with some clearance. Most books say it's bumpy, but it's nearly impassible by cars. The trail is easy to follow and climbs very gently. Watch out for horse poop. At 4.5 miles or so, you'll be in gorgeous meadows and climbing gently to Sunny Pass (7200 ft). We arrived at Sunny Pass within 2 hours. It was warm and there was no snow anywhere. The views are amazing and the sunsets spectacular. We found a nice flat spot on a ridge and set up camp. It was getting dark by the time we finished our dinner, so we called it a night and went to bed, planning on doing some exploring and hiking in the morning. Unfortunately, we woke up to wind and snow. Now this was a lesson for me, as we were not really prepared for that type of climate: even if it's 85 in Winthrop, it can start snowing in Horseshoe Basin the next day. All of eastern Washington was quite cold that morning, but if you head up there, be prepared for anything. About an inch had accumulated when we packed up our stuff and left, and it was not showing signs of letting up. Snow was falling all the way down to 6300 feet. We saw several deer, but that was about it. It's a gorgeous place, but I'm not sure if it's worth the drive from the Seattle area.

After driving seven very rough miles to Iron Gate trail head 6100 feet the first half mile of the trail was a cake walk. After reaching sunny pass at 7200 feet the view is spectacular and trails are snow free into the Horseshoe basin (Louden Lake) and beyond.