Exploring The Methow Nordic Trail System Offers Adventurers A Chance To Explore Pristine Wilderness In The Heart Of The Cascades

Call me a rebel. I’m one of those travelers irresistibly lured by destinations that are off-limits.

Take Washington’s North Cascades, for example. State Highway 20 gets shut down sometime in October or November, just as snow begins to adhere to steep mountainsides and provide graceful evergreens with their winter coats. What scenic grandeur one is missing!

Imagine my delight, then, when I discovered that there is a way to explore the North Cascades all winter long. No arduous trekking, no heart-thumping uphill plodding on cross-country skis. It’s all quite painless.

It began on a frosty February morning as I sat down to breakfast at Mazama Country Inn, a few miles west of Winthrop. Mazama is one of those delightful towns that you can tour without walking more than 200 yards. It sits on the edge of the Pasayten Wilderness, neatly tucked in between winter’s last drivable portion of Highway 20, and a sheer granite cliff called Goat Rocks.

Anyway, there I was at breakfast with the other guests, still wearing my bedroom slippers and not feeling the least bit funny about it. Nor had I locked the door of my room. It’s that kind of place. The long table next to the enormous stone fireplace was strewn with hot breakfast concoctions. Somewhere between the ham and egg enchiladas (with salsa), country fried potatoes and blueberry muffins, the lady next to me asked if I’d been up to Washington Pass yet.

Washington Pass? That’s well beyond the barricade that marks the snowplow’s last effort. How had she gotten there?

Snowmobile, of course. A revelation! With a sinful breakfast behind me, I made haste to the manager and booked the trip.

Less than two hours later, I was astride my trusty Yamaha, whisking up Highway 20 on tracks already carved into the deep snow blanket by yesterday’s adventurers. A few minutes more and our small group reached a point near Washington Pass where white peaks stood out crisply all around us, stark and assertive against a sky of cobalt blue. I was surveying the North Cascade’s most dramatic panorama in mid-winter, highlighted by a view of Liberty Bell in its tattered cloak of ermine.

The same route is used by dog sleds, and for cross-country skiers it’s a gradual, no-sweat uphill push amid spectacular views.

Both Mazama Country Inn and its close neighbor, North Cascades Base Camp (located just 2.2 miles to the west), serve as perfect hideaways for those who would like to cozy up to the North Cascades in winter while sleeping in comfort and eating well. Best of all, the doors of both inns open right onto a much-heralded network of nordic ski trails throughout the Methow Valley.

The nation’s second-largest, this trail system encompasses 175 kilometers of groomed runs, attracting skiers of all abilities. The valley’s topography, sculpted by a marauding sheet of ice over 10,000 years ago, consists of rolling hills that form a graceful transition zone between the high Cascades and the level landscapes stretching eastward. Ski trails run through peaceful aspen groves, across meadowed woodlands, past beaver dams, alongside rivers and streams, and into high country.

Valley snows are dry as dust, very different from the “Cascade concrete” dumped by Pacific storms along the western side of the mountains. Moreover, the sun shines five days out of seven. (The region averages a scant 14 inches of annual precipitation.) If one is to believe valley residents, winter snows cooperate with the general emphasis on outdoor recreation by falling mostly at night: about 7 feet a year in the valley, and up to 30 feet up higher among the peaks.

It all adds up to a deep, dry secret that many ski touring enthusiasts consider to be their own personal find.

Mazama Country Inn and North Cascades Base Camp are located near the scenic western end of the trail system, close to the mountains. The Base Camp offers five rooms and one suite, three meals daily, and a two-bedroom rental cabin on the premises. Breakfast and dinner are served family-style, with lunch makings offered after breakfast, similar to the meal plan at Mazama Country Inn.

The Base Camp’s hot tub and outdoor skating rink (skates available … no charge) are especially popular. Besides the scenic groomed trails, one of which parallels the Methow River, there is unlimited backcountry skiing on nearby Forest Service land. Helicopter skiing is also available to both intermediates and experts.

Back in 1968, the congressional bill creating North Cascades National Park included a promise “to preserve for the benefit, use and inspiration of present and future generations certain majestic mountain scenery, snow fields, glaciers, alpine meadows and other unique natural features.”

Congress kept its promise. Here are 19,000 acres of undivided wilderness set aside as wildlife habitat. Each winter, thousands of mule and white-tailed deer travel through the region, and moose sightings are becoming more frequent. Black bears, cougars, lynx and wolves are making a comeback.

Meanwhile, back at Mazama Country Inn, I returned from my snowmobile tour to a warm, crackling fire and a dinner of East Indian chicken curry, rice pilaf and cauliflower with ginger sauce, topped off with apple crisp drowned in fresh cream. Another trip out here and I can hardly justify a snowmobile journey. I’ll have to jog.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: If you go From Spokane, the most direct route to Mazama is westward on highways 2, 174 and 17 via Davenport and Grand Coulee to Pateros. Just southwest of Pateros, take Highway 153 north and join Highway 20 to Winthrop and Mazama. Snow tires may be required from Winthrop. Mazama Country Inn is 15 miles west of Winthrop. North Cascades Base Camp is another 2 miles down the Lost River Road, which starts at the Mazama Country Store. For more information North Cascades Base Camp, 255 Lost River Road, Mazama, WA 98833; (509) 996-2334. Mazama Country Inn, P.O. Box B9, Mazama, WA 98833; (509) 996-2681 or (800) 843-7951. Managers at both destinations are happy to arrange snowmobile, dog sled, and helicopter tours. A modest daily fee is charged for use of the valley’s cross-country trails.