Unseasonably warm temperatures in the 60s and 70s are hitting the Seattle area, but the high country along the North Cascades Highway still has plenty of snow.
Washington state highway snow-clearing crews working from the east have hit bare pavement on the way to the 5,477-foot Washington Pass on Highway 20.
They're trying to clear by May 1 arguably one of the nation's most spectacular stretches of highway. It's a big draw not only for motorists but for touring bicyclists.
The 50-some miles of Highway 20 between Mazama and Newhalem in the North Cascades National Park is featured in Adventure Cycling Association's Northern Tier and Washington Parks bicycle routes.
It's also a destination for many bicyclists riding alone or in groups who want to test their climbing abilities in rarified air.
Grandest
National Geographic Explorer magazine has called the North Cascades Highway “One of America's grandest, most spectacular drives.”
This Washington Department of Transportation photo from Friday, top, shows the approach to Liberty Bell Mountain (7,600 feet) with 8 to 10 feet of snow flanking the road. Below it is a photo I shot about five years ago in almost the exact same location that shows what a scenic route this is for bicycling.
The snow-clearing teams are approaching from the east and the west; in places they've been met by 50-foot avalanches of snow. As of Friday, they're within six miles of each other at the pass.
Bicycling
Many bicyclists approach Rainy and Washington passes from the west, a steep slog from Newhalem. It must be a difficult way to start a west-to-east bike tour on the Northern Tier.
If you have a choice, I'd recommend attacking from the east. The climb from Mazama is slow and steady, with constant views of the Liberty Bell up ahead. A deep, forested canyon follows the road to the south and is backed by the soaring Silver Star Mountain.
At the base of the Liberty Bell rock the highway takes a horseshoe to the right and climbs right beneath it to Washington Pass.
Methow Valley
A lot of cyclists visit the Methow Valley on the eastern side of the Cascades. It's a good destination for mountain biking, with some 125 miles of singletrack in the area of Twisp, Winthrop and Mazama.
It's also on the dry side of the Cascades. Roadies spending a few days in the Methow Valley can spend as much of the day as they want climbing up to Washington Pass, then turn the bike around and head back to where they're staying with hardly turning the crank.
On the map above, a ride between Mazama (B) and Marblemount (A) is 68 miles. It starts on the arid eastern slope of the Cascades and passes Silver Star and Liberty Bell on the way over Washington and Rainy passes. On the wetter western side, cyclists pass many roadside waterfalls and views of the oddly blue Diablo Lake before arriving in the old logging town of Newhalem.
My son and I bicycled through this area with Cascade Bicycle Club's Ride Around Washington about five years ago. Seeing the photos of bare pavement on the North Cascades Highway tells me that maybe I should be making plans to return this summer.
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