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Here is a heads up for those folks with plans to climb in the Northern Pickets and who are planning to hike in via Access Creek. Yesterday, North Cascades National Park closed a portion of the Big Beaver trail due to a wild-land fire. The closure starts at the junction with the Pumpkin Mountain Trail (basically the mouth of Big Beaver) to the National Park boundary (which is about two miles before Luna Camp). Overall the section of trail that is closed is about seven miles in length.

 

This closure doesn’t completely rule out approaching the Pickets via Access Creek, but it means that to get to Access Creek one would have to hike in via Little Beaver and over Beaver Pass – a much longer option. Therefore I would suggest either the Easy Ridge or Whatcom Pass approach. Both require hiking in from the Hannegan Pass trail.

 

The trail was closed due to the Big Beaver Fire, which has reached about 1000 acres in size. As I was hiking through the area looking for visitors to evacuate

(along with a NPS fire-fighter), the smoke was so thick that we could see only about 150 feet! We could also hear large trees falling and rocks rolling down the hillside on the south-side of Big Beaver. I witnessed a tree torch about a ¼ mile away from where we stood on the trail!

 

If you have any questions about accessing the Pickets or about the current state of the fires, don’t hesitate to call the park.

 

360-873-4590 ext. 39 (about climbing questions) and ext.7139 (about fire questions)

 

Alex Brun

Wilderness Ranger, North Cascades National Park

 

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Dru said:

we are getting the smoke from this fire up here in Chilliwack. cross border pollution! fruit.gif

It's less obnoxious than that Molson Export crap you ship down here!

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