I recently went on a father/son trip to backpack and hike in North Cascades National Park in early to mid July. It's a memory I'll cherish forever. Grateful doesn't even begin to express my feelings on being able to spend this quality time with my son Jake.
We began our trip by backpacking the super challenging and epic Copper Ridge Loop. It actually begins in the Mount Baker / Snoqualmie National Forest then loops around in the NW portion of the North Cascades National Park. We were only about 6 miles from the Canadian border at one point. We spent 3 days & 2 nights on the trail, clocking in a total of 38 miles and 9,000 ft elevation gain. Our legs were cooked!
Day 4, we had a recovery day to explore North Cascades National Park along Highway 20 with all the overlooks, viewpoints and some short hikes. Then our 5th and final day, we day hiked Cascade Pass to Sahale Arm Glacier - 12 miles and 4,000 ft elevation gain. Jake and I both agreed it was one of the best, if not the best, day hikes we've ever done.
North Cascades National Park has the most glaciers, over 300, of any U.S. National Park outside of Alaska. Interestingly, it's one of the least visited national parks probably because just touring it along Highway 20 doesn't really do it justice. You have to hike high up into its mountains to really see it & truly experience it.
Logistics notes:
Backcountry camping in North Cascades NP requires a permit which can be obtained via early access lottery (in April) or first come first serve at the local park office early morning on the day you are to begin camping. We secured ours via the early access lottery, which is what I would recommend with proper planning especially for popular trails & campsites. More NCNP backcountry permit info here.
We flew into Seattle and stayed in a hotel in Bellingham, where we bought a few camping supplies that we couldn't pack on our flights, such as Jetboil fuel, bear spray and some camping food. The next morning we drove the 1.5 hrs to the trailhead located at the end of Hannegan Pass Road (a dirt forest service road) past Glacier, WA.
We packed 1 two-man tent (actually a 3 man rated tent but it really only has room comfortably for 2), Jetboil stove, 3L gravity water filter (there were several good water sources throughout the trek), sleeping pads & bags, trekking poles, food, clothes, among other backpacking/camping necessities. I'm happy to share a full list and answer any questions about backpacking, camping & hiking in general upon request.
The weather was outstanding. It was dry our entire time backpacking with chilly nights in the high 40s/low to mid 50s and daytime highs of 70s on the high ridge and low 80s in the river valley. Always a risk out west in the summer, there was some faint wildfire smoke haze obscuring some of the long range views at the end of our first day. Our timing was good as I read the very next week, the wildfire smoke in the area got worse.
After coming off the trail the afternoon of day 3, we drove to Marblemount, WA...the closest town bordering the west side of North Cascades National Park. We stayed at the North Cascades Inn for a couple nights, which is a nice and rustic place that served our lodging needs just fine. There isn't much else in this town...some campgrounds, only a couple restaurants (Mondo Restaurant was really good), couple gas stations, and a coffee shop. There's not a grocery store here (there are a couple back in the small town of Concrete, west of Marblemount) so you won't find camping supplies or good camping/trail food here, so plan accordingly. Further east after you cross into the park is the small outpost of Newhalem which has a small grocery store with more items you won't find in Marblemount but check their operating days/hours.
More notes and commentary in the captions below. This website has some good info on planning for North Cascades NP.
