North Cascades

EARLY IMPRESSIONS: EURO-AMERICAN EXPLORATIONS AND SURVEYS

OVERVIEW

"Washington Territory" has within its limits portions as well explored and others as nearly unknown as can be found west of the Mississippi . . . . The interior portion of this section is but imperfectly known. The land office surveys north of the Columbia have as yet made but little progress. . . .The narrative of Lewis and Clark, the book on Oregon Missions by Father de Smet. . .and Irving's Astoria...are the chief publications of value on this ground. They serve merely to show that the country bordering the Rocky Mountains between 46° and 49° [parallels] on both sides, is still a fine field for exploration. [1]

Euro-American exploration of the enigmatic territory in and around the northern Cascade Mountains occurred late in the history of the Pacific Northwest. Written records of coastal expeditions first record the sighting of the Cascade Range in the eighteenth century. While maritime explorers plied Pacific waters, inland expeditions first penetrated the heart of the American Northwest in the late eighteenth century, slowly pushing to the north, east, and south of the formidable North Cascades. Before the second decade of the nineteenth century closed, the first recorded journey into today's North Cascades National Park had been accomplished.

Fur traders were among the first to spread knowledge of the North Cascades. Year after year these adventurers searched for improved routes through the territory in order to expedite the transport of their furs to market. Following these explorations, the United States government expressed an interest in the remote region and assigned the military to conduct general reconnaissances there. Simultaneous with government efforts, private railroad concerns dispatched survey and mapping teams to locate cross-country railroad lines. Nearly all of these expeditions had the same goal: the improvement of transportation and communication networks in the growing territory. Everyone sought to find "the most feasible route" through the mountains.

For a period of nearly ninety years intrepid individuals explored the North Cascades region. Access to this remote area was difficult. Initially, travelers used shovel-nosed canoes along major rivers as a means of reaching into the foothills of the mountains. When river navigation became impractical explorers continued on foot, often following well-worn or remnant Indian trails. Many of these trips were documented; probably more were not and go unrecognized to this day. The diaries or journals which were maintained recorded in detail everything from natural and cultural features of the area to the virtues of huckleberries. Through these diary and journal records the timber and mineral resources of the North Cascades as well as pertinent physiographic information became known, and the mysteries of the region slowly unraveled. Further exposure came with the mapping of the area beginning in the late 1850s, although this early work was often inaccurate in its depiction of the terrain.

This chapter discusses documented explorations into the North Cascades. First, expeditions along the coast recording inland views of the mountain range are noted, followed by regional explorations occurring outside the boundaries of the national park. In turn, interior explorations entering today's park are addressed in chronological order, to the close of the exploration era in 1900. As with each chapter, we will end with concluding remarks and management recommendations.