RANGE HISTORY
The mountains are beautiful, but they keep secrets. Not all who wander are lost... some are taken.
Every peak has a shadow. For every breathtaking vista, there's a story that ends in silence. The official trail guides tell you about elevation and mileage. They don't tell you about the things you might see when you're alone, miles from any road, with the sun going down. This is the other history of the North Cascades. The one you're not supposed to know.
THE MYSTERIES OF THE NORTH CASCADES
October 1978
Agnes Frye Vanishes
Experienced hiker that vanished into the Northern Cascades. Her camera was found a year later with the final photo being a blurry image of the trail ahead. The photo was empty except for a fallen tree that blocked the path.
Ongoing
Diablo Dam Whispers
Visitors report hearing faint, pleading whispers on the wind, even on calm days. Park rangers dismiss it as 'unusual acoustics from the spillway'.
1962-present
The Silent Watcher
A tall and gaunt figure reportedly seen standing motionless among the trees surrounding Thornton Lakes, just beyond the edge of vision. It never approaches, never retreats. It only watches.
1951-2003
The Poet, Elias Wren
Elias Wren was a poet who lived alone in the North Cascades for nearly thirty years, surviving off the land and writing haunting verses about nature’s destructive forces. When he died, his body was found eerily decayed, as if wood rot had claimed his organs.
September 1984
Warm Campfire on Mount Despair
A team of three climbers was never seen again. Search parties found their basecamp intact, a pot of coffee still warm over a low flame.
1958-Present
Reflection in Heather Lake
Lone hikers claim their reflection in the still water is not their own—sometimes older, sometimes just wrong. A trick of the light, they say.
1970-present
Cascade Shapeshifters
Shapeshifter sightings documented by rangers but never officially recorded. Witnesses describe human figures transforming into large predators at twilight. All accounts share eerily similar details.
August 1995
Lightning Strike Survivors
Three climbers struck by lightning during clear weather. They returned speaking in unison, claiming they 'saw what's beneath.' All three disappeared within a month of their rescue.
July 2001
Perfect Photographs
Tourist's digital camera contained 47 photos of the same location, taken over 6 hours. Each image identical except for a progressively closer dark figure. The tourist has no memory of taking them.
The Ballad of the Cascades
A song commissioned in 1979 to promote the park. It was never released.
The peaks are white, the woods are deep, A lovely place to fall asleep. Come see the lake, so cold and blue, And let the mountains swallow you. The trail is long, the path is steep, Promises the forest keeps. Don't turn around, don't be afraid, A perfect, final campsite's made. So pack your gear and say goodbye, Beneath a cold and empty sky. Come to the Cascades, dark and grand, And never leave this lonely land.
(Project terminated. All copies of the recording were ordered destroyed. This transcription survives from a sound engineer's recovered notes.)
The Wild Takes Back
In 1980, without any prompting from the National Parks Service, the singer of the original ballad walked into a recording studio to record one more song regarding the wilds surrounding North Cascades. A copy of the song on vinyl was eventually found within an abandoned campsite on the Three Fools Trail.
Oh the peaks rise high Where the Skagit runs clear Where the air feels light And the sky draws near A land untouched A paradise made Come walk with me Through the forest's shade In the North Cascades Where the wild winds sing A cradle of life in the mountain's ring Where the sun rides high And the valleys run so low Into the Cascades that's where we'll go Where the moss grows thick On the cabins wood And fallen timbers call To reclaim what once stood The roots run deep Like the years have flown The forest whispers You are not alone In the North Cascades Where the wild winds sing A cradle of life in the mountain's ring Where the sun rides high And the valleys run so low Into the woods that's where we'll go The hawk rides the sky The stream hums below A rhythm of time Only nature can know The paths we carved Fade like morning dew The earth reminds us It will outlast you In the North Cascades Where the wild winds sing A cradle of life in the mountain's ring But hush now listen There's a voice way down below. The wild will take you back To make you its own
(Song digitized and remastered by The Long Dead Bard)
REMEMBER THE STORIES
Enjoy the trails. But if you hear a branch snap behind you... don't look.