North Cascades

RECREATION AND TOURISM IN THE MOUNTAINS

GETTING THERE

Although people had sporadically made their way into the mountains for many years, it was the automobile and its mass production in the 1920s that allowed more people, now called tourists, to travel freely into the backwoods of the region. A 1922 promotional brochure on the automobile roads of the state of Washington lured many with promises of adventure in the remote reaches of the mountains: "The automobile tourist is discovering the state of Washington. Roads are reaching into the mountains farther and farther each year; the auto camper follows them as far as his engine will turn." [2] Once the realm of the hardy few--homesteaders, loggers, miners, and wealthy individuals in search of adventure -- out of the way places throughout the northwest were systematically made accessible through the construction of roads. The USFS, in conjunction with state and county governments, was responsible for building many of these roads. With auto tourism came new demands on the wilderness. Lodges, rustic cabins, and campgrounds were built by both the public and private sector in response to the needs of these travelers. Recreation had become a viable business, and places such as Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker were geared up for masses of mobile, sightseeing Americans.

The North Cascades, specifically the area of today's park, was spared such early impacts. For many years, no roads penetrated the wilderness. It was simply impossible to reach the wild core of the North Cascades without tremendous physical effort and that fact alone left most of this region untrammeled by tourists for decades. Only those who were hardy, adventurous, and willing to forego conveniences made the attempt. On the west side of the divide, tourists approached the mountains by canoe up the Skagit River as far as Goodell's Landing. From there a trail led foot travelers and those on horseback deep into the high country. A wagon road reached Marblemount by the 1890s and was extended five miles to Bacon Creek in the 1910s. The Great Northern Railroad laid its tracks as far as Rockport in the early twentieth century. From Rockport a stage carried travelers to Marblemount. In the 1920s Seattle City Light (SCL) constructed a private rail line from Rockport to Newhalem (and later to Diablo), occasionally carrying Skagit valley residents and USFS personnel as well as their own staff and visitors. By this time, an unimproved road was in place along the Skagit River as far as Thunder Creek but even then few tourists made their way in. Eventually the road was extended beyond Thunder Creek and connected with a road constructed from the east side of the Cascades. This monumental effort to bisect the mountains was not completed until 1972.

Early tourists approaching the North Cascades by way of the eastern slope found the route equally strenuous. Of course, Stehekin and the Chelan country could be reached from Marblemount by foot or horse via Cascade Pass in four days, but most opted for the more "civilized" route. Taking a train to Wenatchee, the traveler then went by steamer up the Columbia River to Chelan Falls where a stage met the boat and "whisked" passengers several miles up a series of dirt switch-backs to the town of Chelan. For the final leg of the trip travelers boarded a steamer which transported them up Lake Chelan on a 55-mile journey to Stehekin. Truly catering to the tourist, some boats were outfitted with armchairs, rocking chairs, and even a grand piano to help while away the hours of the day-long excursion. [3] Once in Stehekin, tourists could reach the high mountains by foot or on horseback, following trails built by miners. In 1891 a wagon road was constructed from the head of the lake to the mines as far as High Bridge. The road was extended as far as Bridge Creek ca. 1926. [4] Bridge Creek remained the end of the road until the 1940s when the push for a mine- to-market road was renewed in the valley and the existing road was extended to Cottonwood Campground. Despite technological advances and the passage of time, access to the North Cascades and to the Stehekin valley from the east side has not changed much since that time. One can now drive to the lake and partly up its south shore, but Stehekin remains unapproachable by car. Since World War II, float planes have provided a quick means of getting to the head of the lake, yet most tourists choose to travel by boat or by foot along the Lakeshore or Summit trails.