The Ptarmigan Traverse is a 30+ mile, off-trail high route weaving between the glaciated peaks of the North Cascades of Washington, never straying far from the crest. The camp spots are spectacular. Most parties do the Ptarmigan Traverse in 5-7 days, most commonly in July or August, and usually from north to south.
Peaks that may be climbed along the way include Mix-up Peak, Magic Mountain, "Hurry-up" (S Mountain), Mount Formidable, Spider Mountain, Le Conte Mountain, Sentinel Peak, Old Guard, The Lizard, German Helmet, Spire Point, Gunsight Peak, Dome Peak, and Sinister Peak.
My parents had first done the Ptarmigan Traverse in 1979; they had been married for 4 years and were 29 years old. At the time, there was hardly a path and the traverse required a fair bit of route-finding and cross-country travel. In 1996, they tried to take my sister Jenny and me (11 and 13, respectively) on the Ptarmigan Traverse (the initial plan had been Sahale Arm but we got busted by a ranger for not having permits and sent back to Cascade Pass; so the Ptarmigan Traverse with a fall-back because no permits were needed). But it proved to be too much for 11-year-old Jenny—the snow step at Cache Col that year was pretty steep, and she was a puddle of tears by the time she was at the col, calling it a "Death Hike" and convinced we would die trying to get back down. We spent the night at the col and hiked out the following day, my dad promising to take us to a Mariners game if we got out alive. In 2003, my sister now 18 and me 20 and my parents 53, we successfully completed the Ptarmigan Traverse in 6 days, even climbing the East Face (4th-low 5th) of Spire Point along the way; this was one of the most memorable backpacking trips we did together as a family. By this time the route had become popular, and there was a path most of the way. In 2009, I did the
Ptarmigan Traverse again with a friend from university, bagging few summits along the way; and in August 2020, Jenny ran the Ptarmigan Traverse in a single 16 hour and 4 minute push. Over the years since our 2003 trip, my parents had several times mentioned their desire to return to White Rock Lakes, a spectacular basin of lakes in the heart of the traverse, but they never executed the trip, and each year it seemed less likely it would happen. It was now 2023, and they were 73 years old (and Jenny 38 and me 40). They still yearned to go, but felt that their days of carrying heavy packs with overnight gear were over. So Jenny and I came up wtih an idea: we would do a five-day in and out backpacking trip on the northern half of the Ptarmigan Traverse, going as far as we could go, with Jenny and I carrying the overnight gear and our
clients parents hiking with lighweight daypacks. This would be the first time the four of us had been together in five years (since Christmas 2018 in Sedona). So Jenny and I booked a week off work, I booked a plane flight to Seattle, our parents gathered up all of their gear, and the plan was set in action. A hot and dry summer had led to very icy conditions on the glaciers and even more rugged terrain on the Ptarmigan Traverse than usual, slowing us down enough that we had to stop just a couple of miles short of White Rock Lakes (we wished we had planned for one more night, and then we would have made it there!); but despite falling short we travelled through spectacular terrain and had gorgeous campsites. I was so impressed with my parents, and it was our most wonderful and memorable family trip to date. So much better than going to Disneyland.
(Why not just do the entire Ptarmigan Traverse in 5 days, rather than and in-and-out on the northern end? Well, here are a few reasons: (1) avoid the time-consuming car shuttle in a schedule already compromised by work commitments and flights, (2) avoid the Downy Creek exit, which was reportedly quite 'schwacky in 2023, and (3) we weren't sure what our pace would be. We played it safe. In retrospect it would have worked out just fine to commit to the through hike.... July 2024* anyone?)
*2025 Update: Well, 2024 came and went. My dad has had nerve-related back issues for years, and it finally deteriorated to the point where he needed surgery. Althuogh he is walking over 15,000 steps per day as of 2025, it is unlikely that he will be able to do something like the Ptarmigan Traverse again. So I am glad we snatched the opportunity in 2023!The following page gives a map of the Ptarmigan Traverse and photos from my parents 1979 Ptarmigan Traverse, our 1996 Death Hike, our 2003 Ptarmigan Traverse as a family, and our 2023 family trip on the northern half of the Ptarmigan Traverse. The 2023 trip is quite the photo bomb, since all of us had cameras (me an actual camera and the rest iPhones) and as a team we took over 1200 photos.
