Routes and rocks; hiker's guide to the North Cascades from ... - USGS

FOREWORDSINCE 1950 the United States Geological Survey, an agency of the Departmentof the Interior, has been making an intensive study of theNorth Cascades between Glacier Peak and Lake Chelan. While participatingin the study, the authors have had ample opportunity to hikethe trails and off-trail high routes of the area, and in preparing thisguide have combined the information they have gained about geologywith the information they have gained about trails and routes. The resultis a very special and valuable sort of guidebook that not only tellsthe hiker what places are worth visiting, and how to get there, but alsoadds to his wilderness experience by telling him how these peaks andvalleys came to be, and why they are what they are.The Mountaineers take particular pleasure in publishing this bookbecause it furthers so well certain purposes of the organization, especiallythe mandates "to explore and study the mountains, forests, andwater courses of the Northwest" and "to gather into permanent form thehistory and traditions of this region"—and surely geologic history musthere be included.Furthermore, The Mountaineers have a profound interest in theproper use of America's natural heritage, as does the Geological Surveyand the Department of the Interior, which says of itself: "In its assignedfunction as the nation's principal natural resource agency, the Departmentof the Interior bears a special obligation to assure that our expendableresources are conserved, that renewable resources are managedto produce optimum yields, and that all resources contribute their full