Was originally slated to spend the night down off Cascade Pass but my friend got stupid lucky and scored walk up permits to camp up at Sahale Glacier on Monday (Labor Day). We started the trek around 5am, made it to the top by 10am, and just had the whole day to hang out, read books, nap, and admire the views.

Absolutely incredible, practically religious experience watching the sunset, sunrise, and the stars over the north cascades from Sahale. NCNP has rapidly become my favorite national park, truly a special place.

What are the better trails to hike this weekend given the wildfires? Has to be dog friendly and about 7-8 miles.

In WA, preferably in Mount Baker Snoqualmie area.

I visited the Hoh rainforest last year, and would like to visit Quinault area this time. What is your favorite hiking trail that is less than 5 miles around that area?

Also, any tips to see elks? Do you see elks around that area?

I am doing a one nighter at Mount Margaret and have a permit for bear camp. I am thinking of doing a short day hike from Bear Camp in the morning before heading back to the trailhead. Does anyone have suggestion on what would be the best? Hike out towards the Dome? Check out Whittier Pass?

That doesn't require a permit or crampons. No need to summit anything, but not opposed to it. Just want to get into the alpine environment without driving too far from the Salem/PDX area. New enough I have a lot to discover but I'm missing my San Juan Mtn's of Colorado and want to play in some scree fields or sit by an alpine lake. Experienced backcountry traveler who enjoys going through rough places to a nice reward.

I was lucky enough to win a core zone enchantments backpacking permit for this Sunday and was planning a 2 - 3 night trip.

Unfortunately the forecast is looking bad with highs in the 40s, chance of rain every day, and cloud coverage. On top of this, there’s smoke to worry about as well.

Should I cancel my trip? I’m leaning towards yes but thought I’d get some other takes cause it’s so hard to get these permits.

Point forecast for upper enchantments: https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lon=-120.797&lat=47.479

Edit: appreciate all the encouragement. I think now it’ll just be a game time decision based on how bad the smoke is looking. I don’t want to be exposed to prolonged bad air quality, but hopefully the weather will clear it out.

Or is it totaly shut with fences and cops?

Source: https://wasmoke.blogspot.com/2025/09/thursday-smoke-update.html

I had noticed when hiking that the falls from the sahale glacier formed a deep cut into the rock and noticed similar features where I circled red. I am guessing these would've been cut by water from a glacier that isn't there anymore, I was wondering if any one has photos, accounts, or just an idea of where to look. Thanks!

Smoke increased throughout the day. In the morning you could see the forest fire to the east and Mt. Rainier was relatively clear, but by early afternoon it was disappearing behind the smoke. Pics from Sunrise.

Hi everyone!

I’m hoping you can help me out with some ideas for a weekend adventure. I’m looking for a hike in WA or OR that’s about 5–8 miles total (round trip or one-way is fine) and ends at a cabin rental with amenities (beds, heat, bathroom, etc., not a backpack-in wilderness hut).

A few more details:

• My husband is new to hiking, so I’m looking for something on the easier side (gentle elevation gain, good trail conditions).
• We don’t currently own backpacking gear, so it needs to be something where we can hike in, stay in a cabin overnight, and hike out without needing to bring full camping setups.
• Ideally, the hike would still feel like a nature escape, forests, lakes, mountains, that kind of thing.

Any suggestions for places you’ve done or heard about would be amazing! Bonus points if the cabins can be reserved in advance.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Had the worst hike of my life today. A random thunderstorm rolled in, and I was wholly unprepared. I kept going back and forth between doing a day hike vs overnight, so all my stuff was strewn in the car between two bags. Unfortunately, one of the things that didn’t make it was any rain gear.

So, I had to take shelter under some trees next to Obsidian Falls. I was freezing and nervous about getting struck vs sitting still and getting cold, and then I noticed my worst nightmare hanging out at the bottom of the falls. A fuckin mountain lion, mannnn. So I calmly and quickly put all my shit in my arms, and marched right out into the thunder. I survived after hiking for three hours in the rain.

But, my hiking poles didn’t. They got left at the falls amidst my panic. They were a super nice pair of collapsible Black Diamonds. So yeah, if you happen to come across them, grab ‘em and I’ll come meet you and buy you a drink.

Camped by cairn basin pee shelter. Fell 36’ short of 10k EV

Thinking of planning a trip to hike Artist Point the last week of October. Any recommendations? Also looking for places to stay.

Absolutely gorgeous view of the majestic Mt. Rainier on a stunningly clear day.

I'm planning to car camp a few nights in southern Washington later this month. Should I plan to bring a bear canister, or would it be safe to leave food inside my locked car overnight?

Anyone see the smoke lately… looks bad . Worth cancelling for fri/ sat?

I have a permit for tomorrow to hike broken top but my work is giving me a hard time about taking a Friday off.

Anyone out there willing to trade for a Saturday or Sunday in the next few weeks?

I've been trying to get permits for years and never had luck until now. I don't want to miss the opportunity.

Hi y'all!

My wife got some time off in late September so we're planning a Rainier/North Cascades trip. We'll be driving up from Southern Oregon, and would love suggestions/thoughts/etc.

We love less-crowded trails, and are down for pretty much anything that's not too technical (we're both ultrarunners/experienced backpackers, but it's been a bit since we've climbed and we aren't feeling true mountaineering.)

Campsites/pull-offs that face southwest would also be awesome, as I'm an astrophographer and that's the direction to see the Milky Way.

So far, some things that I'm considering are:

• Newhalem Loop C--camping site. It looks like this'll be open, but I've also read conflicting things and am very interested in alternatives. We're fine dispersed camping or even just sleeping in our car at a pullout if that's allowed.
• Windy Pass via the PCT just as a day hike.
• Hidden Lake Lookout -- I'd love to stay in the fire lookout, but I haven't been able to figure out how likely we are to get that on a weekday. We're fine starting at midnight so we're the first ones up, but don't really want to do that if we are unlikely to snag the lookout anyways.
• Grasshopper Pass via the PCT -- day hike or backpacking Cascade Pass with Sahale Arm -- day hike.
• Camp Summerland -- we'd like to backpack this, and it seems like we have a decent chance of getting permits if we shoot for a weekday.

Alternatives? Things we're missing? Also, if you're a climber and want to do something with some people who are experienced with multipitch but have been out of the game, let me know! I'd be super interested in a night climb/photoshoot or something like that, or some chill multipitch stuff.

Thanks for your time and wisdom!

Hi! Trying to plan a last minute camping trip around Seattle the second weekend of October. I haven’t camped in the PNW before so I am a little out of my depth as far as what spots are feasible to get a site at this last minute 🤔 but also I feel like October isn’t the most busy season. Any advice would be appreciated!

-pretty, car accessible campsite, in an alpine hiking region. (Could be dispersed campsite)

-near long hiking loops with lake views. It would be day hike and not overnight so max 10 miles

-areas of interest are lake colchuck, robin lakes, jade lake, the enchantments but I know these are popular spots

Me and my girlfriend plan to take a week trip to WA in the last week of October. We are aware that weather can vary and we need to stay on top of this. We plan to go to MRNP for the first couple days, then Olympic, then North Cascades.

Does anybody have tips or safe practices we should do before entering each of these parks? This includes reservations, safe bet hikes (regardless of weather), or anything that might be useful to know..

I appreciate all your insights