Glacier Peak Wilderness is a , ,

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

located within portions of Chelan, Snohomish, and Skagit counties in the

North Cascades The North Cascades are a section of the Cascade Range of western North America. They span the border between the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington and are officially named in the U.S. and Canada as the Casca ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. The area lies within parts of

Wenatchee National Forest Wenatchee National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in Washington (state), Washington. With an area of 1,735,394 acres (2,711.55 sq mi, or 7,022.89 km²), it extends about 137 miles along the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range of Wa ...

and Mount Baker National Forest and is characterized by heavily forested stream courses, steep-sided valleys, and dramatic

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...

-crowned peaks. The dominant geologic feature of the area is Glacier Peak. It is the most remote major volcanic peak in the Cascade Range and has more active glaciers than any other place in the lower forty-eight states. Glacier Peak is a volcanic cone of basalt, pumice, and ash which erupted during periods of heavy glaciation.

History

Glacier Peak Wilderness was created by the U.S. Forest Service in 1960 through the efforts of the North Cascades Conservation Council, four years before the 1964 wilderness legislation of the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

Ecology

Forest vegetation comprises several species of fir,

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three v ...

, hemlock, red cedar as well as stands of mixed

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

and Douglas fir on its eastern slopes. Various species of wildlife inhabit the area and include

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

, elk, black bear,

mountain goat The mountain goat (''Oreamnos americanus''), also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a hoofed mammal endemic to mountainous areas of western North America. A subalpine to alpine species, it is a sure-footed climber commonly seen on cliffs an ...

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. ...

marten A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on ...

, and

lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, ...

. Smaller animals, such as field mice are common. The last confirmed

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

sighting in the United States portion of the North Cascade ecosystem occurred in this wilderness. The high mountain

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s often give good catches of fish during their ice-free months. The primary fishery is

cutthroat trout The cutthroat trout is a fish species of the family Salmonidae native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean, Rocky Mountains, and Great Basin in North America. As a member of the genus '' Oncorhynchus'', it is one of the Pacific t ...

, however, other species do exist.

Access

No roads approach Glacier Peak, and many miles of hiking through extremely rough terrain to reach its base. Normally, hikers can reach the volcano from the west via the

White Chuck River The White Chuck River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a tributary of the Sauk River. Course The White Chuck River originates on the slopes of Glacier Peak in the Cascade Range, near White Chuck Cinder Cone. It flows generally ...

Valley, or the

Suiattle River The Suiattle River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. Course The Suiattle River originates from the Suiattle Glacier on the east slopes of Glacier Peak in the Cascade Range. It flows generally northwest to join the Sauk River north of ...

Valley; from the east, it may be approached from the western tip of

Lake Chelan Lake Chelan ( ) is a narrow, long lake in Chelan County, north-central Washington state, U.S. Before 1927, it was the largest natural lake in the state by any measure. Upon the completion of Lake Chelan Dam in 1927, the elevation of the lake w ...

or the White River or

Chiwawa River The Chiwawa River is a tributary of the Wenatchee River, in the U.S. state of Washington. It is completely contained within Chelan County. Much of the Chiwawa River's drainage basin is designated national forest and wilderness. The upper Chiwa ...

valleys.

Trail conditions

Most years the wilderness is still buried under of snow in May. Usually most trails and passes are snow free by mid-August, but this varies from year to year. Snow and cold rain can occur in mid-summer.

References

External links