Double Desolation

Here's the scoop: The Route is an out and back from the East Bank Trailhead off Highway 20 in the North Cascades to the north end of Ross Lake and back. Here's the catch: you must summit Desolation Peak twice, on both the out and the back. So the complete route is East Bank Trail to the Desolation Peak trail, summit Desolation (a hike, not a climb), then head up Lightning Creek all the way to the Hozameen Campground, touch the monument at the Canadian Border, then reverse the route, including summiting Desolation a second time. The entire route adds up to 93+ miles. That's the Body part.

Here's the Mind part: Jack Kerouac spent 63 days during the summer of 1956 as a fire lookout on Desolation Peak. He wrote about his experiences in the books Lonesome Traveler, The Dharma Bums and Desolation Angels. To complete the Cascadian Wilderness Endurance Series Mind/Body Challenge you must read or listen to one or more of the works attributed to this period in Kerouac's career, and in your trip report tie in your experience on the trail to one of the books. This can be done in any way you see fit, through words, pictures, video, song, whatever expression you choose.

Anyone who completes the route, reading, and writing assignment will receive a one of a kind finisher's patch.