Cascade Pass Trail
5 / 5
North Cascades – The Grand Finale
1 / 15
On Day 5, we broke camp and rolled 30 minutes down the road to Marble Creek Campground, a peaceful, forested gem tucked deep in the trees alongside a rushing creek. It was quieter, cooler, and felt like a deep exhale after the busier days before.
After our thigh burning climb to Trappers Peak the day before, our bodies politely requested two full days of absolutely nothing. We listened. We lounged by the water, read books, and soaked up the shade. Sometimes doing nothing is exactly what’s needed.
Once we were fully recharged, we laced up our boots again for the Cascade Pass Trail—a 7.4-mile hike with about 1,800 feet of elevation gain. After a steady climb through forest, the trail eventually opened up to wide open alpine views and towering peaks. Near the top, we spotted two mountain goats and a baby on the trail. They looked like they wanted to go further up the narrow trail, but a line of people blocked their way. So they headed uphill instead, munching on grass along the way. After that, we had to cross a rocky avalanche field and some lingering snow.
And then we met Mary resting on a boulder at the end of Cascade Pass.
She’s hiking the Pacific Northwest Trail solo along the long distance trail that runs from Glacier all the way to the Olympic coast. Mary’s pushing 70 and knocking out 15 mile days as part of her daily routine. She told us she hiked the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail back in the 80's… and casually mentioned in recent years she hiked 700 miles of the Florida Trail with a broken foot, wearing a medical walking boot. Most of the thru hikers she meets are a third her age.
And what's the trail name provided to her by the youngsters?
Mary Badass. A true trail legend.
After our thigh burning climb to Trappers Peak the day before, our bodies politely requested two full days of absolutely nothing. We listened. We lounged by the water, read books, and soaked up the shade. Sometimes doing nothing is exactly what’s needed.
Once we were fully recharged, we laced up our boots again for the Cascade Pass Trail—a 7.4-mile hike with about 1,800 feet of elevation gain. After a steady climb through forest, the trail eventually opened up to wide open alpine views and towering peaks. Near the top, we spotted two mountain goats and a baby on the trail. They looked like they wanted to go further up the narrow trail, but a line of people blocked their way. So they headed uphill instead, munching on grass along the way. After that, we had to cross a rocky avalanche field and some lingering snow.
And then we met Mary resting on a boulder at the end of Cascade Pass.
She’s hiking the Pacific Northwest Trail solo along the long distance trail that runs from Glacier all the way to the Olympic coast. Mary’s pushing 70 and knocking out 15 mile days as part of her daily routine. She told us she hiked the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail back in the 80's… and casually mentioned in recent years she hiked 700 miles of the Florida Trail with a broken foot, wearing a medical walking boot. Most of the thru hikers she meets are a third her age.
And what's the trail name provided to her by the youngsters?
Mary Badass. A true trail legend.