Pasayten Wilderness 100-mile hike

A 100-mile backpacking trip is a good start for sizing up a wilderness area. The Spokane Mountaineers, celebrating their 100th anniversary this year, honored the centennial at the end of July 2015, with a week-long horseshoe-shaped route through Washington’s Pasayten Wilderness. ( Read story.) The area includes 531,539 acres hugging more than 50 miles of the U.S.-Canada border north of Winthrop. The plan called for hiking most of east-west Boundary Trail 533, which includes sections of the Pacific Crest (PCT) and Pacific Northwest (PNWT) national scenic trails. The Newby Lake fire closure prevented them from starting at Irongate Trailhead in the southeast portion of the wilderness and hiking the through the scenic Horseshoe Basin. So they started from Thirtymile Trailhead, picked up the Boundary Trail at Cathedral Lakes and headed west into incredible scenery mixed with drudgery in downfall prompted by 2006 wildfires. Relief came when they merged into the Pacific Crest Trail and headed south on the well-groomed scenic route to their shuttled vehicle at Harts Pass. Follow their trip in these photos by Outdoors editor Rich Landers.

Section:Gallery

Fri., Aug. 7, 2015

Luke Bakken of the Spokane Mountaineers take a break from his first day of hiking into the Pasayten Wilderness to pluck ripe raspberries in a burned area along Chewuch River Trail 510.

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Horse riders head up Chewuch River Trail 510 into the Pasayten Wilderness. The area was involved in the 2006 Tatoosh wildfire.

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A packer leads his string of horses and mules past Spokane Mountaineers hiking up Chewuch River Trail 510 into the Pasayten Wilderness. Outfitters are common in the wilderness, especially on the east side.

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Hopping stones across Cathedral Creek toward Cathedral Lakes after enjoying a nice campsite in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Trail 565 headed for Cathedral Lakes in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Looking down on Cathedral Lakes in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Looking down on Boundary Trail 533 in the Pasayten Wilderness as it comes through Cathedral Pass to the right.

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Mule deer are common along trails and near campsites in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Remmel Lake in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Boundary Trail 533 north of Bald Mountain in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Boundary Trail 533, Bald Mountain in the background, in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Spruce grouse are common in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Hiking Boundary Trail 533 westward near Ashnola River in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Hiking through aspens as Boundary Trail 533 descends westward toward Ashnola River in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Shelter, in poor condition, on Boundary Trail 533 at Ashnola River in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Luke Bakken of the Spokane Mountaineers uses the remains of washed out bridge to cross the Ashnola River on the Boundary Trail during a 100-mile trek through the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Spokane Mountaineer Samantha Journot and her dog, Duke, ford the Ashnola River on the Boundary Trail during a 100-mile trek through the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Samantha Journot and Luke Bakken of the Spokane Mountaineers hike to Peeve Pass on the Boundary Trail during a 100-mile trek through the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Lupine leaves hold water that saturates hikers boots for hours after a rain in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Trail 506 heads north from Boundary Trail 533 in the Pasayten Wilderness toward Ramon Lakes.

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Ramon Lake near Park Pass and the U.S.-Canada Border in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Quartz Lake near Boundary Trail 533 in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Descending past larch off a beautiful open stretch of Boundary Trail 533 along Quartz Mountain toward Dean Creek in an area of the Pasayten Wilderness that burned in 2006.

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Samantha Journot of the Spokane Mountaineers descends the Boundary Trail 533 off Quartz Mountain in a portion of the Pasayten Wilderness burned in a 2006 wildfire.

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A charred blaze helps Samantha Journot of the Spokane Mountaineers find the little-used Boundary Trail 533 off Quartz Mountain in a portion of the Pasayten Wilderness that burned in a 2006 wildfire.

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Hiking Boundary Trail 533, nearly to Bunker Hill in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Rest break on Boundary Trail 533 on Bunker Hill in the Pasayten Wilderness looking west toward the North Cascades and the tip of Mount Baker.

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Signs along Boundary Trail 533 off Bunker Hill in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Fireweed blooms in profusion as Samantha Journot and Luke Bakken of the Spokane Mountaineers try to navigate the sketchy Boundary Trail through a portion of the Pasayten Wilderness that burned in 2006.

Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review
Looking for cut logs from previous trail maintenance helps hikers find their way along Boundary Trail 533 where it fades from lack of maintenance above Bunker Hill Creek and into the Pasayten River area of the Pasayten Wilderness.

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A single Douglas fir is the only tree to have in sight that survived a 2006 wildfire along the Boundary Trail in a portion of the Pasayten Wilderness that burned in 2006.

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Samantha Journot of the Spokane Mountaineers crosses a log over East Fork Pasayten River on a sketchy portion of Boundary Trail 533 in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Blowdowns are common along a sketchy stretch of Boundary Trail 533 along the Pasayten River in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Campsites safe from the potential of toppling snags are hard to find near Boundary Trail 533 along the Pasayten River in the Pasayten Wilderness until you head south to the junction with Soda/Frosty Creek, where there's an excellent site in an unburned area.

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Another day of blowdowns clogging the Boundary Trail in the Pasayten River drainage ravaged by a 2006 wildfire. Backpackers Samantha Journot and Luke Bakken of the Spokane Mountaineers often had to climb or crawl through tangles of timber a they headed south toward Soda/Frosty Creek.

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Oregon grape was colorful at the end of July along the Pasayten River in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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The Pasayten River near Holdover Creek in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Dead Lake off Boundary Trail 533 along Frosty Creek in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Frosty Lake along Boundary Trail 533 in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Frosty Lake along Boundary Trail 533 in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Hiking up from Frosty Lake toward Frosty Pass on Boundary Trail 533 in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Hiking over Frosty Pass on Boundary Trail 533 in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Hiking toward Castle Pass and the Pacific Crest Trail on Boundary Trail 533 in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Hiking south on the Pacific Crest Trail toward Hopkins Pass in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Backpackers catch cutthroat trout at Hopkins Lake in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Samantha Journot, her dog Duke, and Luke Bakken of the Spokane Mountaineers hike the Pacific Crest Trail above Hopkins Lake during their 100-mile trek through the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Hiking south on the Pacific Crest Trail toward Devils Stairway above Hopkins Lake in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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The Spokane Mountaineers on the Centennial 100 miler through the Pasayten Wilderness pose off the PCT on Lakeview Ridge.

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On the Pacific Crest Trail south of Hopkins Lake in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Three Fools Peak along the Pacific Crest Trail in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Duke the cattle dog wasted no energy at rest stops after 70 miles of hiking in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Woody Pass on the Pacific Crest Trail in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Rock Pass on the Pacific Crest Trail in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Hikers Scout Leader and Cheerleader were a few days from finishing the 500-mile Washington section of the Pacific Crest Trail when the Spokane Mountaineers passed them at Rock Pass in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Hikers Crazy Legs (left) and Gotta Go were a few days from finishing the 500-mile Washington section of the Pacific Crest Trail when the Spokane Mountaineers passed them at Rock Pass in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Samantha Journot cools off and rinses out her hiking clothes at the same time with a dip in Lower Goat Lake off the Pacific Crest Trail in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Tamarak Mountain along the Pacific Crest Trail in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Slate Peak Lookout looms above the Pacific Crest trail near Harts Pass in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Between Windy Pass and Harts Pass on the Pacific Crest Trail in the Pasayten Wilderness.

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The Wolverine Fire was blowing up in the Glacier Peak Wilderness near Lake Chelan as the Spokane Mountaineers neared Harts Pass to end their week-long 100-mile backpacking trek through the Pasayten Wilderness.

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Pasayten Wilderness locator.