North Cascades Photos: Moonrise From Luna Peak, North Cascades National Park

North Cascades Photos: Moonrise From Luna Peak,
North Cascades National Park, Washington

This photograph is one of my personal favorites, both for the content and the story of how it came to be.

We had backpacked over fifteen miles into the northern unit of North Cascades National Park. This region of the park is so rugged and wild that there are only a few main trails. A backcountry trip to anywhere approximating the center of it involves a lot of miles, and preferably at least several days. To do a loop on the trail system would take more like a week.

We didn't have that much time, so we had selected Luna Peak as our destination. We could reach it in a day, and it would allow us to look over into the awesome South Picket Range.

At the time, I was training hard in a martial art, and was suffering from an inflamed tendon in my right leg from too many side kicks. I had been careful to give it plenty of rest in preparation for this trip, and the symptoms had disappeared. Unfortunately, the pain returned after perhaps ten miles of hiking with a full pack, making me limp like a peg-leg sailor.

We reached our jump-off point for the climb up Luna Peak. Off trail now, we waded a rushing, cold creek, then started the long climb up through the forested slopes of the peak.

Emerging from the spruce-fir forest at timberline, we were treated to an awesome view of the surrounding peaks. Making our camp above timberline, the weather was clear and unthreatening, so we didn't even pitch our tents. Our bivy sacks were protection enough for our thick sleeping bags. That way, we could lie back and drink in the stars at bedtime, until sleep overcame us.

The South Pickets were right around the corner, so to speak, from where we had established our camp. We walked around the point to enjoy the incredible view as evening fell.

Back at camp, we could see Elephant Butte, the massive peak on the right side of this photo, far across the canyon. As sun set and the pastels of dusk deepend, the rising moon became visible.

Watching the moonrise on a clear evening from a place named Luna Peak, deep in the heart of the North Cascades, with no one else around, is about as good as it gets.