Although it's just an hour and a half from the Seattle metro area, word of the Wild Sky Wilderness hasn't totally reached all backcountry trekkers there. Part of a wilderness complex that covers the Northern Cascades from U.S. Route 2 to the Canadian border, the federally protected Wild Sky Wilderness adds 106,565 more acres to this 2.6 million acre area, the first addition in America since 1984.
   From the Skykomish River Valley, a land covered in Douglas fir, western red cedar and western hemlock, the terrain climbs significantly in a relatively short distance. A line of mountain peaks reach high above the timberline, covered in perennial fields of ice and snow.
   East of the Beckler River hikers find the topography much less dramatic. Lowland forests give way to mountain meadows and a mass of spectacular color. Trails, such as Meadow Creek, West Cady Creek, Scorpion Mountain and this captivating view from the Johnson Ridge Trail offers some of the best that Wild Sky has to offer.
   Here in the preserve, trails range from a family affair (Barclay Lake Trail) to those for the serious trekkers. Connections to the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness and the Pacific Coast Trail entice those with solitude on their mind. Continuing further on Johnson Ridge, the vertical climb begins. Beyond, a picturesque wall of granite includes the Columbia Peak, Sawhorse Tower, Independence Tower, East Wilmans Peak, Monte Cristo Peak and Kyes Peak.

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