Clearwater Wilderness is a

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

in the

North Cascades The North Cascades are a section of the Cascade Range of western North America. They span the border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and ...

mountain range, in northern

Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

, of the

Northwestern United States The Northwestern United States, also known as the American Northwest or simply the Northwest, is an informal geographic region of the United States. The region consistently includes the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming ...

. It is located in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, southeast of

Tacoma Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, northwest of Mount ...

in northeastern Pierce County. It was created by Congress in 1984, under the 1964

Wilderness Act The Wilderness Act of 1964 () is a federal land management statute meant to protect U.S. Wilderness Area, federal wilderness and to create a formal mechanism for designating wilderness. It was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Socie ...

that established the

National Wilderness Preservation System The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federal government of the United States, federally managed Wilderness, wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally ...

. Its southern border reaches

Mount Rainier National Park Mount Rainier National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in southeast Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County and northeast Lewis County, Washington, Lewis County in Washington (sta ...

, affording views of

Mount Rainier Mount Rainier ( ), also known as Tahoma, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest in the United States. The mountain is located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With an off ...

from its trails.

Description

Bearhead Mountain, the highest peak of the Clearwater Wilderness, is in elevation. Below are the headwaters of the north-flowing Clearwater River, and many streams. Eight small lakes, including Summit Lake, are within the wilderness area.

Old-growth An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without Disturbance (ecology), disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organizati ...

forests of

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is the tallest tree in the Pinaceae family. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Or ...

western hemlock ''Tsuga heterophylla'', the western hemlock or western hemlock-spruce, is a species of hemlock native to the northwest coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in northern ...

and western redcedar are protected, and are reachable by hiking trails. The forest understory is made up mostly of

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

s and

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

es. The season between October and May receives 90 percent of the area's annual precipitation. Snow in amounts reaching can remain as late as July in high areas. Wildlife in the area includes bears, deer, marmots, elk, cougars and pikas, as well as birds like eagles, grouse and songbirds.

Trails

* Summit Lake Trail is an easy hike up to Summit Lake.

can be seen from a high point near the lake. * Clearwater Trail is a difficult hike over the Clearwater River and a number of creeks, and through old growth and meadows. * Carbon Trail has the same trailhead as Clearwater Trail and meanders south for to join the Summit Lake Trail.

Gallery

Rainierreflect1.jpg,

, seen from the Clearwater Wilderness Summit Lake Trail 1177 — 015 (Twin Lake).jpg, Twin Lake, on the Summit Lake Trail Summit Lake Trail 1177, WA (DSC 0640).jpg, Summit Lake trail

References

External links

*
Clearwater Wilderness on the United States Forest Service website

Clearwater Wilderness on Wilderness.net

Clearwater Wilderness Trail Guides - Map
* {{Protected areas of Washington (state) Wilderness areas of Washington (state) Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest North Cascades of Washington (state) Old-growth forests Protected areas of Pierce County, Washington Protected areas established in 1984 1984 establishments in Washington (state)