The first automobile trip through the Cascade Mountains in northern Washington State via what would become Highway 20 was made on September 26, 1968, using a rough-hewn road following a route agreed to in 1940. Three days later, President Lyndon Johnson signed the bill creating North Cascades National Park. The highway was completed four years later.¹ I remember when the highway was finished, and it was not long thereafter that our family made its own inaugural trip. I have loved visiting that part of the state since.

The highway was cleared of snow this year on April 16. On April 24, after a 197‐day interval, the temperature in Seattle reached 70°. One thinks, It’s warm and the road is open, then recalls the motorcycle in the garage, and there is really only one thing to be done. Nothing like a 439‐mile day in the mountains to get reacquainted with the majesty of our surroundings.

After the state swings the gate closed at milepost 134 outside Newhalem, weather systems such as those that helped create the country’s single‐season snowfall record holder² continue east and cover the highway. Avalanches bury sections of the road in 75 feet of snow. The folks in Winthrop are so eager to see the road open in the spring that when the truck hauling the snow‐removal Caterpillar D8 out of the mountains rumbles through town on the low‐boy trailer, they know it means the work through the Liberty Bell area is done and start calling the state’s Department of Transportation to learn whether they can turn on the Open signs.

This week, the road is in remarkably good condition. Tossing the bike up and around Thunder Arm was the pleasure it always is, and the lack of sand in the corners meant a skosh more right wrist was sensible. The weather was perfect, and the clear skies made the views from the top of the bike just breathtaking. Heading south into Wenatchee, it got downright hot (well, hot according to someone who had just spent a winter in western Washington), and I managed to bridge the gap between the headwaters of Nason Creek and the Skykomish River without having to zip the vents on my jacket closed (although it did get a bit brisk for ten minutes or so approaching the summit). I always think of Mount Index as the sentinel making sure I am pointed in the direction of home, and it had shouldered aside the few clouds to make itself evident as I wound downward along the Skykomish, letting me know I had found my way once again.

I have ridden the Pacific Coast Highway, the Redwood Highway, the Million Dollar Highway, the Alaska Highway, and thousands of miles between. My opinion is that up and over Washington Pass, down the Methow and Columbia Rivers, and back through Stevens Pass — most of what local Chambers of Commerce call the Cascade Loop — is some of the best motorcycle travel in western North America. The road is open, and the riding is fine.