Starting at Stevens Pass we headed north into the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness, defined by the wilderness agency as

Straddling more than 30 miles of the craggy north-south trending crest of the Cascade Mountains, with deep glacial valleys spreading out east and west from the crest, this Wilderness is perhaps most distinctive in its northwest section. Here you will find terrain reminiscent of the Swiss Alps: glacial basins surrounded by raggedy ridgelines supporting sharp spires and imposing rock towers, attractions to many mountain climbers.

From there we would ascend and descend many mountain peaks, ridges and valleys before entering Glacier Peak Wilderness, just before camp. Glacier Peak Wilderness, according to the Okanogan-Wenatchee Forest Service is

More than 700 lakes and mountain ponds dot the glacier-carved terrain of this wilderness. Tree covered valleys give way to rocky ridges and rugged peaks along the crest of the Cascades. Many peaks and slopes are permanently cloaked in snowfields. From wet forests of Douglas fir, cedar, and an understory of salal and berries, to firs and mountain hemlock, the landscape opens up to expansive meadows matted with low growth and ends with dry forestland of ponderosa pine and grasses

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