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In Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest, the Boulder River Wilderness Area is remote and obscure. At 75 miles from Seattle, and without skiing, many locals can’t easily point to it on the map. Along with the natural splendor, this makes for hiking heaven. There are more campgrounds between Silverton and the end of the paved road than Starbucks downtown; all are closed for the season.

The area is home to centuries old virgin western hemlock and red cedar, 60 million year old fossilized plant leaves, Big Four Mountain which will hopefully be the subject of a future post, and the famed Ice Caves. This is an easy and well maintained single mile hike, starting at a picnic area build on the site of the old Big Four Mountain Hotel. A boardwalk guides visitors across the bog and to the base of the mountain, towering more than a mile above. The caves themselves are more like tunnels into a permanent ice field; the roof is unstable, and hikers have been seriously injured, even killed, here.

To the Mountain Loop Highway

This past weekend’s destination, the Boulder River Wilderness, is more or less in the center of the Cascade Loop, and makes a good launching point if you have the time. If not, know the ‘loop’ dead ends. Some distance beyond Silverton, WA, the paved road ends. A dirt road picks up in its place, descending into a canyon in the mountainside. From here it’s about 20 miles to the next paved road, leading to Darrington.

A visit from almost anywhere in the PNW is going to start with I-5; this is the back-country, approaching the Pacific Crest Trail. Inaccessible is the word of the day. From here take US 2 for a brief few miles, then exit SR 20, follow it just as briefly, then, eventually, take WA 9 North through Lake Stevens to 92 East. The numbered roads end in Granite Falls, where the Mountain Loop Highway begins, and urban sprawl ( civilization as we know it? ) ends.

Continuing on to the Cascade Loop, simply follow the dirt road to it’s end, then head north from Darrington to Route 20 into North Cascades National Park. By the time you’ve left Granite Falls, you should be well feed and have all the supplies you need. Silverton is less of a town than a collection of houses, maybe half a dozen in all. Robe and Verlot are almost imperceptible.

History: Silverton, Robe, Verlot, and Granite Falls

Granite Falls began as a native fishing grounds on the Stillaguamish River, in the Cascade foothills. It became a way station on the railroad between Monte Cristo and burgeoning Everett a century ago; the rail line was completed in 1893, and closed a decade later. Not surprisingly, turn of the century architecture dominate the townscape, which looks like the facade backdrop from an old western gunfight.

The town of Robe is named for Truitt Robe, who settled in 1891. The town, if it can be called that, rests just to the east of the Robe Canyo, an old railroad tunnel along the river. Verlot began as a ranger station, and, frankly, hasn’t changed much. Silverton was originally settled by four miners, and, overall, has barely grown since its inception. However, within the few years surrounding 1890, gold, silver, and copper were discovered in the foothills, and Silverton, having been built on the only flat ground for miles in either direction, quickly grew to house about 300 residents, hotels, saloons, even a barber shop, all supported by the local mining economy. Today, none of this history is evident to the casual visitor; anyone with an interest in history must leave the main road. The town’s web site proclaims:

At the end of the 1800s Silverton was a bustling mining town of 300. Today, the townsite is a remote “off the grid” community of cabins surrounded by Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest, friendly neighbors and the occasional bear.

Monte Cristo Ghost Town

With John D Rockafeller’s help, Monte Cristo was the state’s most famous mining town a century ago. The town was weakened in 1893 by financial crisis, and panic in 1907 finally killed it. Monte Cristo was reborn as a western ghost town. Access to the site is severely limited; the flooding and landslides in November 2006 washed out much of the road.

The paved country road ends at Barlow Pass; a gate blocks access toward the town. Visitors can obtain a key to the gate from the Monte Cristo Preservation Association, a local non profit, in exchange for a signed waiver of liability. In winter, the road is only plowed to about a dozen miles from the site of the ghost town, and rarely at that. Snowmobiles and skis are the only ways in, and people travelling under their own power should be prepared to snow camp for the night. In summer months, cycling is another option to reach the town, but strictly prohibited beyond.