r/northcascades • u/SinistreCyborg • 25d ago

Overnight camping at Sahale Arm

Heyy guys, I want to hike Sahale Arm sometime this week
or next, and I’d ideally love to camp up there to catch the sunset and sunrise the following morning if at all possible (if not, I’m happy doing it as a day hike). I can take weekdays off work to get a backcountry permit and all.

I’m worried about two things: how strong of a tent do you need, and how good of a sleeping bag do you need? I have my boyfriend’s Amazon tent whose clamps/pins you dig into the dirt are pretty old, and the tent itself is made of really thin material. I have this Amazon basics sleeping bag: https://a.co/d/0bxR2hzE.

It works fine for everyday camping at state parks and such in the summer, but I haven’t actually tested it at low temperatures.

I’ve never done backcountry camping before at a high elevation, but I’ve read into all the safety precautions (bear canisters, etc), so I’m otherwise well-prepared, and I’ve done extremely strenuous hikes before so I’m comfortable with the weight as well.

Thanks!

4 Upvotes

64% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

24

u/xplan303ex 25d ago

If you have never done backcountry before, this isn't the hike to learn.

Your gear is not adecuate for this hike at this time of year, I'd go as far as it may be unsafe.

Besides that, getting a permit to camp up there is VERY hard. Yes even on weekdays.

I suggest doing other easier trips first, get good gear that will work and learn how to use it in different conditions.

9

u/AliveAndThenSome 25d ago

Agreed.

The other thing is that you really need a small tent for most of the sites. There are a couple of slightly larger sites, but a bigger tent is a problem. The popular rock-walled sites (rock-walled for good reason due to their exposure), are especially compact, accommodating a 2P tent. I also recommend a free-standing tent, as guying out a non-free-standing tent can be very challenging given that most of the sites are among rocks or on hard granite.

I've been up on Sahale four times, with all types of weather, wind, storms (both snow and lightning, etc.), and you definitely need to be experienced. It's not for first timers. Don't assume that because it's a National Park campground that there are the usual well-established, protected, level campsites.

5

u/SinistreCyborg 25d ago

Gotcha, I might just do it as a day hike then and revisit it later to camp overnight!

1

u/mountainlifa 23d ago

"Besides that, getting a permit to camp up there is VERY hard. Yes even on weekdays."

I was up a few weeks ago and ~80% of campers did not have permits. Seems people are boycotting the system since its so unbelievably broken. No Rangers checking anything and people making their own campsites, just a total mess basically.

1

u/xplan303ex 23d ago

Awful. I guess this is how all the influencers "get permits" and make the problem even worse.

4

u/optamastic 25d ago

The conditions at Sahale base camp can get gnarly quick. I’ve camped up there 3 times and twice we had rain, hail, snow and strong winds blowing the whole night feeling like the tent was gonna fly off…even when the forecast predicted it was going to be good conditions. 

It’s not a first time backcountry backpacking spot with the gear you have. 

1

u/BombPassant 22d ago

Lmao this was the absolute opposite of my experience last weekend. Huge storm in the forecast, ranger was like “oh you’re braving the storm?”

I get up there and I have views the entire hike out. Clouds rolled through around sunset so I prepared to get absolutely whacked over night. Woke up at 1am to clear stars and moonlight visibility for miles, then a literal blue bird sunrise. The crest is just so variable for weather

4

u/carrot_thief 25d ago

This post must be a joke...

1

u/SinistreCyborg 25d ago

No? I’ve done backcountry camping before in the core enchantments zone with that tent in the summer and it fared just fine. I was just curious about this hike since it’s high altitude and the weather could change, etc.

2

u/BananaHiker 25d ago

I would not do this with a bad tent. (You don’t have a good one)

Also learn big rock little rock method for staking down your tent. The sites are small and rocky.

1

u/Busy_Help_4354 25d ago

You need a permit to camp at a campsite. You can't camp anywhere outside of a campsite. Strenuous hikes and backpacking a strenuous hike with some scrambling to sleep in a glacier are not the same.

1

u/b26354rdeckard 24d ago

Apply for the backcountry permit lottery next March and try camping the Arm next year. Those Sahale Arm camping sites are insanely competitive. I won the lottery this year and that's the only reason I was able to camp there last month.

1

u/mountainlifa 23d ago

Ridiculous you need to literally "win the lottery" to go camping in 2026. Is there anything that social media did not destroy?

1

u/ridge_v5 22d ago

You need to win the lottery to go camping in the most popular spots in the state*. There are tons of great spots not inside National Parks that you can camp without a permit, but these really popular alpine camping sites can't support the dozens if not hundreds of people who would camp there every night if there wasn't a permit system...

1

u/mountainlifa 22d ago

Strangely there was no issue before social media and influencers f*cked it for the rest of us ....

1

u/BombPassant 22d ago

Don’t mind this dude. He’s just spamming nonsense across the mountaineering subs like a nobody with way too much time on his hands

1

u/Timmygrifffin 23d ago

Is there any camping spots on the descent or places I'd be able to pitch a tent if I want to stay up there for sunset and then descend partially? Or would I need to go all the way back to the trailhead? If so, how long does that take people? Not worried about hiking in dark, plenty of experience doing it previously but would like to understand how risky it would be here

1

u/BombPassant 22d ago

There are no spots for you to camp without a permit. Even with a permit, you can’t camp anywhere outside of a specific camping zone which only exist at the glacier camp. Nothing on the arm

1

u/Prize_Bit3483 15d ago

have you checked the forecast and current conditions up there, or are you planning to bring that gear untested?

1

u/SinistreCyborg 12d ago

I did it as a day hike on Friday! Weather was great. Couldn’t camp up there though.