Darrington, Washington
Darrington, Washington is a North Cascades adventure mecca. Whitehorse Mountain (6,841 feet) towers over town, beckoning climbers, hikers, and backcountry snow explorers to its jagged ridges. Situated in the upper Stillaguamish Valley, Darrington provides access to world-famous steelhead and trout fisheries on the Sauk, Suiattle, Whitechuck, Stillaguamish, and Skagit Rivers. The Skagit is considered by many to be the birthplace of the NW spey (two-handed) rod tradition and techniques. Each of these rivers offers up their own style of whitewater adventure for kayakers, canoers, and rafters. Darrington also serves as the access point to the upper Sauk River Valley (via the Mountain Loop Highway ) – a gateway to famous peaks like Whitechuck Mountain (6,690 feet), Mt Pugh (7,185 feet), and the towering 10,520-foot Glacier Peak. As a base to explore the North Cascades, Darrington provides access galore.
Maps
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The Ptarmigan Traverse Summits
The Ptarmigan Traverse is a high elevation route in the North Cascade Range of Washington State. It was first done in 1938 by a group from the Ptarmigan Climbing Club and didn’t become popular with mountaineers until much later. Nowadays, many groups tackle the traverse every summer. For experienced mountaineers, this trip has a lot […]
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The Bulger List – Washington’s Highest 100 Peaks
In the summer of ’96, I ran into a friend that I hadn’t seen in awhile. After catching up and laughing about the crazy times back in college, he mentioned that a few guys were climbing Mount Shuksan in a couple of weeks and asked if I wanted to join them. I immediately said yes, […]
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Gamma Hot Springs – Places I’ve Never Been
I’ve never been to Gamma Hot Springs, but I heard about this remote soaking pool anytime the conversation steered towards hot springs around Seattle. Apparently, I’m not alone either – most folks know of someone who has been there, but the “knowing” feels more like playing six degrees of Kevin Bacon rather than scrolling through […]
Featured Mountains in Darrington
| Mountain | Approx. Elevation |
|---|---|
| Whitehorse Mountain | 6,840 ft (2,085 m) |
| White Chuck Mountain | 6,690 ft (2,039 m) |
| North Mountain | 3,809 ft (1,161 m) |
| Mount Pugh | 7,185 ft (2,190 m) |
| Jumbo Mountain | 5,581 ft (1,701 m) |
| Hurricane Peak | 6,217 ft (1,895 m) |
| Green Mountain | 6,398 ft (1,950 m) |
| Gold Mountain | 3,340 ft (1,018 m) |
| Glacier Peak | 10,520 ft (3,206 m) |