Ten Days Over Cascade Pass—and No Wagon Road

Anacortes, March 7, 1895. To the Editor: We were members of Mayor Curtis' party which crossed the mountains via Cascade Pass on July 2, 1894. The account of that day's travel as published in the March 1 issue of the Post-Intelligencer was substantially correct and not in the least exaggerated. We were ten days going from Marblemount, on the Skagit River, to Winthrop, on the Methow River, making camp as follows: Left Marblemount early June 28 and went into camp at Puley's on same night, remaining in camp during the storm on the 29th; Barnett's cabin on night of June 30; Gilbert Landre's cabin on night of July 1; Horseshoe Basin, night of July 2; at junction Park Creek and Stehekin River on night July 3; about seven miles up Bridge Creek on night of July 4; at edge of snow line below Bridge-Twisp summit on night of July 5; on Twisp Creek beyond Bridge-Twisp summit on night July 6; and went into camp on Methow River, opposite Winthrop, at 7 p.m. July 7. A guide named Gilbert Landre took the party through Cascade Pass. Our party did not unnecessarily lose time during any of the ten days, the only delay being during the storm of June 29.

The members of the party were Mayor Curtis, E. S. Dodge, C. C. Harnett, H. H. Soule, E. L. Gerrish and A. M. Barron. We had four pack animals. We went via Cascade Pass route because the two bridges across the upper Skagit, above Goodall's, had been washed away by the floods of the previous May and June, which rendered the trail up the main Skagit impassable for animals.

On July 6, four days after crossing Cascade Pass, we overtook Jack O'Brien, of Marblemount, and another man, and they said that in crossing Cascade Pass they had lost one pack animal. It missed its footing and slid over the snow bank. We returned in September via Cascade Pass with the animals, while the members of the party either went down the Skagit trail or down the Columbia and over to the Sound on the Great Northern. We lost one pack animal in coming through Cascade Pass. It slipped and tumbled over a precipice. These are the only trips we have made over Cascade Pass, but from what we saw we know that a wagon road cannot be built and maintained over that route.