Picket Range
Encyclopedia
North Cascades
The North Cascades are a section of the Cascade Range of western North America. They span the border between the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington and are officially named in Canada as the Cascade Mountains...
in the northwestern part of the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
state of Washington. It is entirely contained within North Cascades National Park
North Cascades National Park
North Cascades National Park is a U.S. National Park located in the state of Washington. The park is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the North Cascades National Park Service Complex. Several national wilderness areas and British Columbia parkland adjoin the...
. It is about 6 miles (9.7 km) long, running northwest-southeast, and is lies north of the Skagit River
Skagit River
The Skagit River is a river in southwestern British Columbia in Canada and northwestern Washington in the United States, approximately 150 mi long...
, west of Ross Lake
Ross Lake
Ross Lake is a large reservoir in the North Cascade mountains of northern Washington state, USA, and southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The lake runs approximately north-south, is 23 miles long, up to 1.5 miles wide, and the full reservoir elevation is 1,604 feet above sea level .The U.S...
, and east of Mounts Baker
Mount Baker
Mount Baker , also known as Koma Kulshan or simply Kulshan, is an active glaciated andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades of Washington State in the United States. It is the second-most active volcano in the range after Mount Saint Helens...
and Shuksan
Mount Shuksan
Mount Shuksan is a glaciated massif in the North Cascades National Park. Shuksan rises in Whatcom County, Washington immediately to the east of Mount Baker, and south of the Canadian border. The mountain's name Shuksan is derived from the Lummi word [šéqsən], said to mean "high peak". The highest...
. There are at least 21 peaks over 7500 ft (2,286 m) high in the range.
Lage Wernstedt of the U.S. Forest Service
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
mapped the Picket Range in the 1920s and named it for its resemblance to a picket fence
Picket fence
A picket fence is a variety of fence that has been used mostly for domestic boundaries. Until the introduction of advertising on fences in the 1980s, a Cricket field was also usually surrounded by a picket fence, giving rise to the expression rattling the pickets for a ball hit firmly into the...
(and not for George Pickett
George Pickett
George Edward Pickett was a career United States Army officer who became a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...
). Wernstedt was also apparently responsible for the names of the main peaks, including Mt. Challenger, Fury, Terror, and Phantom. These names first appeared on maps in 1931.
There are few trails in the Picket Range, and any excursion there has a strong wilderness
Wilderness
Wilderness or wildland is a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. It may also be defined as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet—those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with...
character. Many of the peaks are challenging rock climbs
Rock climbing
Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
. The rock is biotite gneiss
Gneiss
Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.-Etymology:...
, "formed by metamorphism of sedimentary and volcanic rocks c. 100 m.y. ago."
Highest Peaks of the Picket Range
| Mountain | Height | First ascent |
|---|---|---|
| Luna Peak Luna Peak (Washington) Luna Peak is the highest mountain in the Picket Range, an extremely rugged subrange of the North Cascades in the American state of Washington. It is located within North Cascades National Park. It is notable for its large local relief and isolated position on a far-flung eastern ridge of the Pickets... |
8311 ft (2,533 m) | 1938 |
| 8292 ft (2,527 m) | 1938 | |
| 8207 ft (2,501 m) | 1936 | |
| align=right|8151 ft (2,484 m) | 1932 | |
| McMillan Spires | align=right|8000 ft (2,438 m)+ | 1940 |
| align=right|8000 ft (2,438 m)+ | 1931 | |
| Whatcom Peak | align=right|7574 ft (2,309 m) | 1936 |
| align=right|6819 ft (2,078 m) | 1932 |