That’s what they call the North Cascades. The high mountains are rugged bare rock with many glaciers and lots of snow so I guess that is where the name comes from. They had lots of snow this year too so the falls are running full and the rivers are all high. They have saved some old growth forest around here and with the frequent rain there is lots of moss and lichen. It is sort of a cross between the Tatoosh Mountains around Rainier and the lush rain forests of Olympic. We have had some bright sunny afternoons mixed in the generally rainy weather so we have been able to squeeze in hikes to overlooks and along wonderfully bubbling creeks.