DEVIL’S DOME

Devils Dome loop is located within Pasayten Wilderness with the tail end of the hike entering into the North Cascades National Park as you descend down to Ross Lake. This loop is a breathtaking and beautiful multi-day (3-4 day) trek where you continually climb up and down, then repeat, repeat and repeat once more. You continually venture through vast wilderness and feelings of proportion as you realize how truly small you are in the true wild.

Distance: ~69.2 km (43 miles) Full Loop
Time: 3 to 6 days; hikers choice
Elevation Gain: ~3330m
Max Elevation: 2128m (6982 ft) at Devil’s Dome Summit
When to do the Hike: Late July to September
Overnight: Yes
Map of the Route & GPS data: Yes!! Click here for Route

HK Plan: 3 days/ 2 nights; 55km (34.1 miles)** Loop w/ Taxi Boat

** distances noted below and starting elevations are rough approximations; we may have hiked more or less than what we recorded.

Day 1: East Bank Trailhead to Devil’s Park
Day 2: Devils Park to Devil’s Dome
Day 3: Devils Dome > Devils Camp …Taxi Boat….Ruby Arm > East Bank Trailhead

Things to Know about this Hike:

Switch backs, we all love em and they are here, we think about 56 in total in the first climb.
Jack Mountain is always to your left.
Late August/September water sources along the trail can be scarce.
Permits – Technically you only need a permit for the last night of this hike, if you are staying at Ross Lake, as majority of the hike is outside of the Ross Lake National Park. On DAY 3 you cross the park boundary from Pasayten Wilderness, Okanogan into Ross Lake National Park when you descend down the mountain.
You can arrange for a taxi boat back from Devil’s Junction to Ruby Creek Junction
Jumping into Ross Lake is as satisfying as you think
Drones are not allowed in the Pasayten Wilderness
Helpful resources – Don’t waste your time in the Northern Cascades & 100 hikes in Washington

You know that labour day long weekend where it’s the last time to get out and enjoy the sunshine, relax and feel that last bit of Summer. Well, when we hear long weekend it means adventure time. For this long weekend we looked to head south across the border to the beautiful Northern Cascades to escape into nature.

The original plan was to do Copper Ridge, however that plan was torn up as soon as we talked with the Ranger Station the Friday before the long weekend. So we scrambled and took to our plan 2: Devil’s Dome Loop.

Devil’s Dome loop is located within Pasayten Wilderness with the tail end of the hike entering into the North Cascades National Park. Overnight camping in the Northern Cascades requires a permit with the Ranger Station, so for the tail end of the trip you do need a permit. Currently permits are only issued in person at the Ranger Station. The Rangers are very helpful and if you phone them ahead of making the trek down they will let you know the reality of getting your permit.

Friday after work, we pack up the car and head down across the border and make our way to the Ranger Station to camp out.

Day 0 – Getting There

Note the Wilderness Information Center (Ranger Station) in Marblemount has a number system, so if you get there early grab a number right away. There a local campsite about 5 minutes down away from the Ranger Station if sleeping in the back of your car is not a desirable option. If you’re looking for dinner, there are a few local options in Marblemount.

Day 1 – Off We Go

6:10AM Paperwork and Things – Part 1A and 1B

Up early and boiling some water for a quick cup of coffee. The Ranger Station in Marblemount opens at 7:00AM. If you have your number, you’ll be good to go when they open.

Ranger Station Tidbit’s:

Hours can vary depending on the time of the year. Check here for current operating hours.
On weekends the Ranger Station is super busy with avid overnight hikers ready to get their permits. DON’T MISS YOUR NUMBER or you will be waiting for some time; e.g. to the back of the line which could potentially add an hour plus to your wait time.
When the Ranger Station closes for the day, they will post outside of the station what campsites/ regions are filled. The info posted is noted for the next 5 days. [Sahale Glacier – back country camping permits fill up fast so plan ahead, and have a back up in case there are no more permits].

After filling out the paperwork with the Ranger for Devil’s Dome, we realized that we could have technically started the hike the previous night as there is a Taxi Boat you can arrange for pick up on Ross Lake, which means you don’t technically need that permit.

Camping permit in hand, we head off along Highway 20 for 30-ish minutes to the East Bank Trailhead Parking Lot – exit #238. There is no service along the highway 20 past Newhalem. We tried to arrange the Taxi Boat reservation in Marblemount but the resort does not open until 8:00AM, so we had to back track from the East Bank Trailhead to exit #231 “Ross Lake Resort Trailhead Parking” to go find the Pink phone that connects you to the resort.

From the Parking Lot “hike” (K wore his flip-flops) down the Ross Dam Trail to the Pink Telephone by the Lake. This is approximately 1 mile [1.6 km] each way, with an easy descent down, and pre-warm up climb on the way back. Recommendation – arrange the Taxi Boat while you have service and avoid having to use the pink phone.

Taxi Boat Info

Ross Lake Resort #(206) 386-4437
Pre-scheduled time and date; give yourself time on the day of pick up in case you end taking longer than you expect.
Cost is based on the boat trip (not per person) and where you get dropped off/ picked-up. Max 6 people.
Devil’s Junction to Ruby Pastures is $115 USD for the boat

About an hour later, after we dealt with the Taxi Boat reservations and eased our nerves, we headed back to exit #238 where we parked the car at the trail head and finished loading up our bags.

10:07AM off we go – Part 2

From the East Bank Trailhead Parking Lot you head down towards Ruby Creek and cross the pedestrian bridge. At the end of the bridge head east (take a right) along Ruby Creek Trail #736. Ruby Creek Trail will connect you to Canyon Creek Trailhead, which is the other trailhead parking lot you can park and start the hike at.

Note – Starting at Canyon Creek Trailhead just makes for a longer walk back to the parking lot, 5.6km longer, on your last day.

Along this stretch of the hike, you traverse along Ruby Creek which is a beautiful river of clear glacial run off. At the time we did this stretch, the route was in pretty poor conditions due to recently downed trees and overgrown bush.

Note – this area is outside of the National Park but get’s maintained by the WTA.

After 5.3 km [3.3 miles] of hiking, we pass Canyon Creek Trailhead Parking Lot and come to the Jackita Ridge Trailhead #738 [Devil’s Park Trail]. Here we took a quick snack/ water break and filled out the Wilderness Use Permit before continuing on.

11:20AM Jackita Ridge Trail – Part 3

Prepare yourself as you start the climb along Jackita Ridge Trail. At first you move across a steady incline, that sweeps across the mountain gracefully. As you continue along the climb, the elevation gain then becomes more apparent and blunt. At this point in the day, we take note that this portion of the hike is very exposed to the sun. (hint – excessive amount of sweat coming from everywhere). With the beating heat of the sun and the fast elevation gain, make sure to have sunscreen, a hat and lots of water on hand.

By 11:58AM we stop at a waterfall where we filled up the bottles and enjoyed a brief moment of ease.

Water at Waterfall – glacial run off, very clean; can be treated with water tabs or a filtration system.

As we continued up the trail, we passed along the Pasayten Wildness Sign noting that we were entering into the Okanogan National Forest. At this point, the sweeping sections of the trail have turned into switch backs. #partytime

Trekking up the ridge, you start to notice the elevation gain by seeing glimpses of the adjacent ranges. We stop around 1:03PM in the shaded portion of a switch back to eat some lunch and reminisce on our love for switch backs…… Apparently on this segment of the trail there are roughly 62 switch backs….during lunch, we realized this portion of the hike is where you climb 1000m (3300 ft) in the first 6.4km (4 miles). Continuing on, we follow the back and forth path of the switch backs …..

50 minutes of trekking along….We reach another waterfall, which is a prime spot to fill up your water storage devices. Also, take in a good chug of water and enjoy a nice cold splash of water on your face. At this time of the year, water sources along the trail can be scarce. After this second waterfall, there was a minor stream just before you reach the meadows. However, that water should be filtered through a pump. Check latest trip reports at the ranger station for updates on water sources along the trail. Bags on and feeling a little bit refreshed, we maneuvered our way along.

2:44PM The Meadows – Part 4

Along the trail, just before you reach the meadows, there is a turnoff to the left that leads you to Crater Mountain and Crater Lake.

Note – Many hikers will go do a day hike, or single overnight hike up to Crater Mountain, or make a pit stop at Crater Lake if time permits.

At this point, the elevation settles out and you cross into the meadows where you get that gorgeous side view of Crater Mountain. First thought in the meadows ….hi semi flat lands. Nice to see you are not a switch back….As you continue through the meadows, you pass through MacMillan Park [elevation = 1615m] for ~3.2km (2 miles) which is a welcoming and gentler section of the hike. After passing through the calming meadows, we passed another camping spot just before Nickol Creek; we did not see this creek in person, but according to the map it exists or was dried up at the time we did the hike. Forging on, we met another climb of ~305m (1000ft) over 2.4km (1.5 miles) before we ascended into Devils Park.

4:42PM Devil’s Park Shelter – Part 5

You know you are at Devil’s Park Shelter when you see the beat up shelter come into view. [elevation = 1783 m (5850 ft)]

Devil’s Park is an open field of meadows with massive groupings of tree’s scattered throughout. When you look northwest towards Crater and Jack Mountain, the two peaks look as if there are closely connected [a deceiving view angle we found out the next day].

Upon filling all of our water containers and splashing cold water on various parts of the body and face, we felt semi-human and ready to set up camp for the night. As we set up camp at our randomly selected point, the views around you are already breathtaking. Mountains mountains and more mountains. While K sets up the tent, I take on the food. One semi settled, we sit and eat and enjoy the beautiful view around us. Rule 101 – hang food in a tree down wind and at least 50m away from where you are sleeping. Devil’s Park is notorious for having animals come about. [we had some guests waking us up the next morning]

We meandered along the path towards the most southeast point and walked across a beautiful but dry grass field to a randomly selected grouping of trees to drop off bags and make camp. But first – we needed to find a water source. There is a small stream just off the trail as you pass the shelter on the northeast side. This stream is known to exist year round but considering the recent heat wave and lack of rain, the stream was pretty low and lacked movement. About 200m in the south-east direction from the stream we found a fairly decent pond that fed the stream. [virtual high five]