The route began at Thirty Mile trailhead and went north along the Chewuch River. Trail. When you reach Apex Pass a few miles farther, you’re presented with your first views of craggy Cathedral Peak, unlike anything else in the Pasayten. Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Methow Valley Ranger District. Trail. Classic Mountain Cabby in Twisp can assist with transportation to the Irongate trailhead. Deer, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, gray wolves, and grizzly bears also thrive. We were tired of the blowdowns, so we decided to take the detour and carried on. This trail is exceptionally beautiful and travels through the Pasayten Wilderness Area. Contributions to WTA are tax deductible, and we are committed to making the best use of every donation to our mission. Albert Camp Trail #375. The trail spans the width of the Pasayten Wilderness and is part of the much larger Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail. Learn how WTA is working to save this trail and other lost trails across the state, 19 Perfect Hikes for Stretching Your Legs on Summer Road Trips. Part 3 of 6 parts, the whole series showing an 8-day backpacking trip in Washington's Pasayten Wilderness. We were camped near Cathedral Lake on September 1, at mile 26 of the Boundary Trail, an 80-mile, 6-day section of the larger Pacific Northwest Trail that stretches 1,200-miles from Glacier National Park in Montana to the Olympic Coast in Washington State. Continuing westward over mostly open terrain with views, the Tungsten Mine is reached at 21 miles. Horseshoe Basin is a diverse expansive paradise of alpine tundra, ghost forest reminiscent of the Tripod Fire of 2006, a forest of larches and easy-to-scramble mountains rising above the wildflower meadow. Studying maps, I mapped out a loop through the eastern Pasayten wilderness to Upper Cathedral Lake. Canyon Creek Trailhead to Jakita Ridge creek (11 miles/4000') We drove out the day before the trip … If you’ve built in a layover day, or have a few hours to spare, consider the extra few miles for the unmarked trail up the south side of Amphitheater Mountain. with USFS Trail 472; SE overland from the junction of USFS Trails 576 and 472 to the junction of USFS Trails 498 and 575; NE on USFS Trail 575 to the USFS Trail 478 (Robinson Creek Trail); SE on the USFS Trail 478 to the Pasayten Wilderness Area boundary; E on the Pasayten Wil-derness Area boundary to USFS Trail 342; S on USFS Trail 342 to USFS The trail spans the width of the Pasayten Wilderness and is part of the much larger Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail. The trail spans the width of the Pasayten Wilderness and is part of the much larger Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail. Pasayten Trail #533.1. Two other options provide access to the Pacific Crest Trail via either Woody Pass or Holman Pass. You can improve or add to this guidebook entry, Washington Trails Association The east-west Boundary Trail crosses Peeve Pass (6,850 ft) closely south of the summit. Charles Hickenbottom. Over the last 19 years, nine major fires have crawled across the Wilderness. AllTrails has 14 great hiking trails, views trails, forest trails and more, with hand-curated trail maps and driving directions as well as detailed reviews and photos from hikers, campers, and nature lovers like you. Boundary Trail #533 (Pasayten Wilderness) Intermediate. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/boundary-west-trail Search Wilderness Connect For Practitioners Search Wilderness Connect For Practitioners Hiking the Boundary Trail is an adventure on many a hikers’ bucket list. Help protect your wilderness by following wilderness regulations and using Leave No Trace principles. Haig Mountain is higher, but Teapot Dome at 7,610 feet is just a half-mile from the Boundary Trail. The combination of stunning scenery and lack of crowds is one of the Boundary Trail’s most enticing aspects especially in autumn, when colors are changing, temperatures are cooling and bugs are gone. The Pasayten Wilderness is a 531,539 acres (215,106 ha) protected area located within Okanogan National Forest and Mount Baker National Forest in Washington state, centered on the Three Forks (48°54′02″N 120°38′01″W) of the Pasayten River, a tributary of the Similkameen River. And while they have played an important role in forest health, they have caused massive damage to trails; destroying fo… Hiking the Boundary Trail is an adventure on many a hikers’ bucket list. In fact, you’ll have to take a truck because the last stretch of road is, “maintained for high clearance vehicles only and is not recommended for passenger cars.” The nearest town is Tonasket, WA. If you’re interested in visiting the mine during a hike to Pasayten, you will find it about 1/2 mile West of the intersection of the Boundary Trail (#533) and Tungsten Creek Trail (#534). The Pasayten is home to the largest population of lynx outside of Alaska. 3am Oct 24- 3pm Oct 25 (36 hours continuous moving, mostly breaking trail through snow) I’ve been interested in visiting very remote points around the world for a while, having done mountaineering expeditions deep in northwest territories and nunavut, Canada and western mongolia. The label on old USGS topo maps labels this entire trail and the Castle Pass #749 as the "Boundary Trail." Boundary Trail is located in Okanogan National Forest. The Boundary Trail begins in the southeast corner of the wilderness and meanders north and west for over 73 miles near the Canada–US border to eventually join the Pacific Crest Trail. Between 1970 and 1976, extensive fieldwork was performed by Strickland and others, including early supporters along the PNT corridor who lent extensive knowledge of local trail systems to the effort. The Pasayten Wilderness in Washington State spans 531,000 acres, skirts more than 50 miles of the Canadian border, and is one of the largest wilderness areas in the contiguous US. At the Pasayten River ford we found a weathered handwritten sign stating that the trail ahead was impassible to livestock due to a landslide and downed trees, suggesting a detour by fording the knee-deep Middle Fork Pasayten River. From the 7,100-foot pass, Bald Mountain looms 7,930 feet high over the Ashnola River, and Sheep Mountain, at 8,275 feet, near Peeve Pass will each take at least a few hours of your time. Like and Share. Camping is available at several places in the basin, but in late season Loudon Lake may be the only available water. A backpacking trip there left me in awe of its landscape, solitude, and wildness. There are several possibilities for arranging transportation—from finding a friend who isn’t hiking to assist with shuttling, or doing a key swap with another hiker. This route gets you to the boundary area of the Passayten Wilderness and to an area of alpine tundra in the lower 48. Hidden Lakes Trail #477. 705 2nd Ave, Suite 300 We only made it about a mile and completely lost the trail in a burn area. The PNT merges with the Boundary Trail, passing through the open, dry plateaus in the Eastern Pasayten to the rugged ridges of the Western half of the Wilderness. We checked the map for other options. Subscribe to our free email newsletter for hiking events, news, gear reviews and more. To hike the BT in its entirety, you’ll need to consider the logistics to accomplish this 80-plus mile one-way hike. There is large network of trails in the Pasayten Wilderness that you could use to approach Sheep Mountain from the west, south, and east. Boundary Trail is a trail in Okanogan National Forest, Mt. Ford the river—a detour downstream may be necessary—then hike upstream for 7 miles to the site of the old Three Forks Cabin. However, this section receives little maintenance and is not recommended. From Horseshoe Basin, the Canadian border is just a mile away via easy cross-country travel. The Boundary Trail is one of the finest mountain walks in the state. Hiking out via the West Fork Pasayten Trail exits near Slate Peak. Wildlife, Create Recommended Route or From Holman Pass, longer options exist to hike over Devils Dome to Ross Lake or McMillan Park to Hwy 20.Hiking out via the mostly forested Middle Fork Pasayten River is the shortest way out to the Slate Pass trailhead (Harts Pass area, 80 hiking miles from Irongate).WTA Pro Tip: If you like to get off the trail and scramble easy summits, the Boundary Trail was made for you. September 5, 2012. 8,300 foot-high Apex Mountain is almost mandatory, given the legendary views of Cathedral Peak. The original plan was to cross the Pasayten, then follow the old Boundary Trail over to the Middle fork, Head up the middle fork, then up and over Robinson Pass, ending at the Robinson creek trailhead. 0 Star This. The Boundary Trail begins in the southeast corner of the Wilderness and meanders north and west for over 73 miles near the Canadian border to eventually join the Pacific Crest Trail. At 8,100 feet, Armstrong Mountain is a long mile from Horseshoe Basin and takes you right to U.S.–Canadian border. Here is a pivotal trail junction where three streams of the Pasayten come together.One of the biggest challenges of hiking the entire 80-plus-mile Boundary Trail is where to exit. At 26 miles you’ll reach 7,600-ft Cathedral Pass, then head down to upper Cathedral Lake near the base of the impressive 8,360-foot Amphitheater Mountain. Across the river is a 2,000 foot climb to more big meadows near 6,900-foot Peeve Pass at 42 miles. Several rusty mining relics can be found near the trail. Long trails that travel through countless meadows, have epic vistas, and are often lonely are my favorite. Green Trails map #20 (Coleman Peak, WA) covers the area – the mine is in section B5 of the map. I had a window of freedom for half of July and needed to find some trails relatively snow free. Beginning at the Irongate Trailhead west of Loomis, hikers will head west, covering some of the most spectacular features of the wilderness area until eventually turning into the Castle Pass Trail, and descending out of the Pasayten Wilderness. From Three Forks Junction, one option heads south up the Middle Fork Pasayten Trail to exit via Slate Pass. We chose to try to see Mount Goodenough and went east along the trail. Starting at the Irongate trailhead west of Loomis—and doing the trip east to west—means reaching the hallowed meadows of Horseshoe Basin on the first day of your trip. The Dianne and Joe Hofbeck Pasayten Wilderness Trails Trust (the Trails Trust) provides funds directly to the United States Forest Service for the development and maintenance of trails in the Pasayten Wilderness. Key access points: Trail and trailhead information. Specifically, the funds are for hiring and supplying seasonal forest service trail … This horse trail goes nearly to the top and the views include most of the Pasayten Wilderness. Hiking the Boundary Trail is an adventure on many a hikers’ bucket list. It became clear that this one to two-week backpacking trip along the U.S.-Canadian border has the potential to be the next John Muir Trail—the wilderness backpacking trip everyone wants to hike. This is followed by a long descent to the log crossing over the Ashnola River at 38 miles. Hiking the Boundary Trail is an adventure on many a hikers’ bucket list. Tweet Share Email. I memorized the route, got all provisioned up and hoped for nice weather. Stop for lunch here before descending a bit more than 3,000 feet to the Pasayten River. Baker National Forest, Pasayten Wilderness, WA. Trail. After a failed Pasayten trip with my brother in 2002, I've always wanted to go back, and he had just the trip to suggest: a ~60 mile lollipop up the Chewuch River to the Boundary Trail, east to Horseshoe Basin, then south over Windy Peak and back down to the Chewuch River. The Boundary Trail goes north from the southeast corner to stretch near the Canadian border for a total of more than 73 miles before joining the Crest Trail. The Pasayten Wilderness boundary. Trail. Seattle, WA 98104. Camping is good here, and you’ll want time to savor the ambiance. Following the pass, trail conditions begin to deteriorate before it climbs right over the top of 7,240-foot Bunker Hill. Hike by WTA Correspondents: Looking for a great trail in Pasayten Wilderness, Washington? The next day we hiked another 1.5 miles south through Sunny Pass and reached The Boundary Trails (Trail #533) which goes alongside the "boundary" of Canada. Trail. The Eastern Pasayten Wilderness has long intrigued me due to its unique geologic history. I recently hiked the ~115-mile long Boundary Trail across the Pasayten wilderness in Washington. The Boundary Trail section of the PNT in Horseshoe Basin, Pasayten Wilderness The route was first conceived by Ron Strickland in 1970. While its remoteness adds to the cost and difficulty of working on the Boundary Trail in the Pasayten Wilderness, compounding those challenges is a vanishingly short season interrupted by summer storms and regularly cut short by wildfire. Washington Trails Association is 501(c)(3) nonprofit. A number of places along the trail are so special that you’ll have the images etched into your memory for years to come. Season: This trail is accessible July-September. Getting To The Boundary Trail To get out here you’ll have to make a long and rugged drive. Some trails are regularly used by horsemen who frequent the wilderness. The trail starts high and stays high with up to 7,600 ft elevation. The defunct campsite, a semi-popular destination for hikers in the Pasayten Wilderness, is still located at the junction (6750’ elevation) of Tungsten Creek Trail #534 and Boundary Trail #533. Leaving the Cathedral Lakes behind, the views continue as you hike west, with bulky 8,685-foot Remmel Mountain being front and center. Gearing up for a challenge? Our tax identification number is EIN 91-0900134. Trail, USFS - Okanogan & Wenatchee National Forest Office. Park Pass Trail #506. The trail spans the width of the Pasayten Wilderness and is part of the much larger Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail. The “official” ending descends to Ross Lake via the Castle Pass and Lightning Creek trails. 55 miles. Connects To. Dean Creek Trail #456. You’ll reach the portal of 7,200-foot Sunny Pass at 5.2 miles and the view of the vast meadows will be but an introduction to the scenic feast ahead.