SKAMANIA COUNTY — It's a sun's-a-blazin', blue-sky, mid-summer afternoon and somewhere between Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams, Brian Mahon is playing coy. Straddling his mountain bike by the Squaw Butte Trail sign, he hides its difficulty rating from us. He's the only one who's ridden it before — thus the only one who knows what's in store — and for hikers and equestrians, we can see that it's been rated "more difficult."
"Move your hand, Mahon," orders one rider.
"Yea, come on," says another. "Let us see what we're getting into."
By Mike McQuaide | August 4, 2005
It's been hours, and the trail has continued relentlessly upward since we started.
"We're almost there," Mariann Shapiro says, pointing to a sign that says "Twisp Pass." Nearby, a USGS marker declares an elevation of 6,100 feet.
A murmur of approval comes from the group. It hasn't been a long hike, only about five miles, but most of us are folks with jobs and preoccupations that keep us from working out as much as we'd like.
By Ericka Chickowski | August 4, 2005
Hike of the Week
Be prepared to smile. You'll greet plenty of other hikers on this popular trail to Cascade Pass, especially on a sunny weekend. However, the scenery more than compensates for the crowds, and smiling is good for you. As views go, they don't get any better than this, but words are cheap. Let the trail do the talking.
It's a three-hour drive to the trailhead in North Cascades National Park, so get an early start. Though the Park Service has expanded the parking lot, it fills quickly on a summer weekend.
By Karen Sykes | August 4, 2005
