I’m writing almost a year after the original trip (which was in late August 2025), but I just want to come back and document this tiny expedition! This is the story of our first ever backpacking trip, so there was a lot of preparation and also anxiety about said prepation. After successfully snagging some North Cascades backcountry permits in the early access lottery, the plan was a two nights three days journey through bear country. It’s safe to say it was quite a lot for a first trip! We had two more experienced friends who were supposed to join us who later backed out, so that further fueled this anxiety.
Preparation Day: Green Mountain Trail
This little adventure came as a result of my wanting to do a multi-day hike. I’ve done day hikes before, but I have no experience staying in the wilderness overnight - not even camping near a car. To prepare, we camped at Sulphur Creek campground, tested out all the gear we’d bought, and hiked up to the Green Mountain lookout the subsequent morning. Here’s the WTA page for Green Mountain .
This is a gorgeous hike and a hidden gem of Washington hiking. The entire trail opens up to panoramic views of the rugged cascades and Glacier Peak (the most remote of Washington’s volcanoes). There are also so many marmots on the way, which greet you with their signature screeches!
Day 1: Easy Pass Climb
The first part of the trail is a steady climb through dense forest. This is the only day with any real elevation gain, and we didn’t have too much distance to cover. We took our time and made our way up the mossy forest bed. At some point the dense foliage clears to reveal the saddle of easy pass in the distance. Switchbacks wind through the rocky pass all the way up. Views of the melting ice pack high above the tree line loom in the distance. We saw only a few people on the trail, which happened to be very well maintained. At the very top of the pass is when you actually enter the North Cascades National Park (the trail up there is located entirely in the National Forest). Views from the top of the saddle are stunning - the entire valley is visible below, along with several high alpine glaciers that seem to be just suspended in the air. This was one of the most rewarding parts of the hike.
The next stage is the winding descent down into the river valley, where Fisher Creek campground - our stop for the night - awaited us. The long descent does a number on the knees but we made it safely and setup camp for the night. The soft sounds of the creek serenaded us as we caught some much needed sleep.
Day 2: Fisher Creek Valley
We went to the creek to fill up our bottles, where we met a group of 3 backpackers who accelerated the process with their gravity filter (we had a crappy squeeze one, and it took forever to fill up the 5 liters we were carrying between the two of us). They were on day 4 of their 5-day traverse starting from the Sahale Arm, and were finishing at the Easy Pass trailhead where we started. Just 10 minutes into starting the day, we encountered a giant mound of bear scat in the middle of the trail, which freaked us out (to put it lightly). We would “Hey Bear!” incessantly for the remainder of the day.
Day 2 was entirely about the distance and solitude, as we had around 14mi to cover with very little elevation gain. This is a beautiful trail that has been crafted with care, intersecting with the creek at various scenic spots and easy crossings, along with log bridges that blend in with the surrounding scenery. As we munched through our dehydrated meal pouches for lunch, our bear canister and packs got noticeably lighter than on day 1, which was welcome. We eventually reached Junction camp, which was the penultimate stop before reaching our next nightly stop which was Tricouni camp. At junction camp the terrain changes notably - the trail switches from following Fisher creek to a steep descent down into the Thunder Creek valley. This descent was especially difficult on our tired legs and knees. Our bodies longed for a nights rest, and we finally made it to Tricouni camp with not much daylight to spare.
Tricouni camp was definitely the best campsite on the whole trail - each campsite sits on a cliff, overlooking the truly thunderous creek below. With just 3 or 4 campsites total in the campground which are also well separated, it felt like we had our own private balcony. Unlike the quiet sounds of Fisher creek the previous night, Thunder creek was a solid roar. We had our meals and quickly fell asleep. At this point we were longing to go home!
Day 3: Thunder Creek Valley
The final day! We had around 8 miles to cover, again with little elevation gain. We just had to traverse the valley all the way to the endpoint - Lake Diablo. Most of the day was uneventful, as we covered the remaining distance longing for the finish. Around halfway in, some smoke began to roll in, as the air started hazing up with a reddish-brown glow. A major fire had started farther north in Canada, and was drifting straight into the North Cascades. We were thankful to have not had this situation on prior days, as the smoke was still manageable. After stopping for lunch at Neve camp, we just had a couple hours to go. We had cut the food a little too close, and had just one meal left - definitely carry a bit more food than you think you need!
We had friends who agreed to drive out to Diablo lake to meet us there, and take us back to the Easy Pass trailhead so we could get our car (this is a point-to-point trail). We had walkie talkies and made radio contact with them almost 2 miles out - the finish was in sight! The thickening smoke was unfortunate, but added a pretty glow to the late morning light. When we finally finished, we enjoyed a little dip of the feet in Lake Diablo. First ever backpacking trip - conquered!
Overall, it was a fantastic few days in the mountains. If you’re looking for a challenging but rewarding hike in the North Cascades, Easy Pass to Thunder Creek is a classic and definitely worth it.
