Vast and inaccessible are not words often used to describe the Cascade Range, but here in the northern reaches, they are the only ones appropriate for a landscape that contains the largest wilderness in the state of Washington. Here, gray wolves and grizzly bears still roam, and human encroachment on their dominion is limited for the most part to the edges of the wilderness.
The North Cascades National Park Service Complex is at the heart of this region. Note the name; this is not just a park but a complex, which includes not only the national park itself but also Ross Lake and Lake Chelan National Recreation Areas. In 1988, by act of Congress, about 93% of the acreage of the entire complex was designated the "Stephen Mather Wilderness." Unlike many national recreation areas, both Ross Lake and Lake Chelan are wild and remote, with minimal development or signs of human habitation.
A trip into this region is a true wilderness experience. Hiking here takes time and preparation. Although there are several shorter trails, most have been designed for the rugged few to take a few days or weeks to get reacquainted with the natural state of things. If you're prepared, though, there's nothing else like it in the continental United States.
Geologically speaking, the North Cascades are some of the most complex and least understood mountains in North America. These peaks were formed over millions of years as a tectonic plate drifting northward from the South Pacific slammed into the North American coast, causing the area's sedimentary rocks to buckle, fold, and transform. In some areas, the rock in the North Cascades is obviously the result of this collision and subsequent metamorphosis. However, in other areas, there is rock that predates the tectonic collision--one upthrust of mountain is believed to be 10 million years old.
Geologic complexity has been further augmented in the North Cascades by glaciation both past and present. In past ice ages both alpine glaciers and the continental ice sheet covered this region. The visual legacy of this intense activity today can be seen in the wide U-shaped valleys carved out by the ice sheet. The single most fascinating legacy of this glaciation is Lake Chelan, which lies in the heart of the North Cascades southern section.
