Wild Wilderness

An autumn fastpacking adventure on the tundra-like terrain of Washington’s Pasayten Wilderness

- Ben Luedke

After pulling off the main road running north from Loomis, Washington, my friend Kevin found himself white knuckling the steering wheel of his Subaru Outback, traversing a slanted, precipitous, dirt mountainside path. We spent the next hour weaving through a labyrinth of unmarked roads searching for the trailhead. Luckily, I’d downloaded a map of the area, and was able to help navigate the matrix of backcountry roads. This was our first fast packing foray into Washington’s remote Pasayten Wilderness, and it seemed the Pasayten wasn’t going to give up her secrets easily.

Offering up about 600 miles of trail, the Pasayten is home to the most remote wilderness in Washington, and is one of the few areas in the lower-48 to feature arctic-tundra-type terrain. Black bears, moose and bighorn sheep inhabit the area, while wolves and grizzlies occasionally move through. People and water sources are scarce. It was irresistible.

“You realize we may get snow and wake up one morning to find the trail gone, right?” I said to break the driving tension.

“Yeah, but the larches are going to be blooming and the mosquitos will be nonexistent!” said Kevin, optimistically.