(mm 2592.8) As you walk the PCT northbound, you are now just a few yards south of the highway and you will follow it to Rainy Pass where you will cross it to continue north.
It was possible to drive from Mazama to Harts Pass (and beyond to Chancellor) almost a 100 years before it was possible to drive from Mazama to Rainy Pass and Ross lake.
The North Cascades Highway, aka State Route 20, did not officially open until September 2nd 1972. For context, that was after Apollo 15 put a lunar rover on the moon.
Original Route
The original proposed route was over Cascade Pass. The State Legislature allocated funds for a road over Cascade Pass and gave it a state route number. The project was worked from 1886 to 1889 then was halted resulting in a nice pack trail over the pass from Twisp to Marblemount via the Stehekin and Cascade rivers, and a few miles of road on either end.
Current Route
Before 1930 cascade miners used a trail west to Rockport that followed the north bank of the Skagit River. Those miners had simply adopted a trail that existed for at least 5,000 years according to evidence of ancient campsites along the route.
But the construction of the Diablo Dam '30, Ross Dam '49, and Gorge Dam '61 created lakes and submerged the trail. Any new trail or road would need a route around these new lakes.
In 1932 highway engineer Ike Munson surveyed a route via Granite and Ruby creeks to the Skagit River. Portions of this route were already built to Diablo Dam (west) and up Early Winters Creek (east). This would ultimately become the route of the highway.
In 1953 locals formed an Association to campaign the state legislature for road construction, lead by George Zahn a former state senator and Methow orchardist. They employed effective public relations campaigns to gain support for the project.
Construction
Construction began on the highway the spring of 1959 starting from Diablo Dam. In many places the road had to be cut through solid rock that wore out 3.5-inch power-drill bits every 50 feet. Rockslides were a constant threat, and buried two workers a week apart in 1962. Contractors installed screens around workers' cages on earth-moving equipment to try to protect them. Work in the winter was simply not possible due to constant avalanches.
Kinda "done"
A rough dirt road was finished in 1968. Most cars couldn't drive it, and even jeeps could only average about 10 mph along much of it. Graders and pavers still had a lot of work to do, but Governor Evans was facing reelection that year so held a dedication ceremony at Rainy Pass on September 29th with Miss Washington attending. He assured the public that if he were reelected the road would be completed by the end of his next term in late 1972. He won, and it was.
Really done
The real opening day for a complete paved highway was Saturday, September 2, 1972, with a Governor's caravan that began in Winthrop, then stopped in Newhalem then Sedro-Woolley for three ceremonies in a single day.
The total cost of construction was $23.9 million.
Trivia
An unproven legend is that notorious serial killer Ted Bundy had been hired by the governor's campaign team to pass out literature and buttons during the festivities. Bundy later claimed this to be true. The claim that he was the governors driver was debunked. It is a fact that Bundy worked on Evans' campaign so the legend is quite possibly true.
Winters
Rather than battle some of the deepest annual snows in the US and constant avalanches the DOT simply closes the highway each winter. The road is often closed in two phases using four gates. In the fall its closed from milepost 134 (Ross Dam trailhead) to milepost 171 (Silver Star gate). As snow accumulates the closure moves to lower elevation from milepost 120 (Newhalem) to Milepost 178 (Early Winters).
The earliest seasonal closing date was Oct. 17, 2007. The latest seasonal closing date was Jan. 3, 1990. The highway never closed in 1976-1977 due to a remarkable lack of snow.
Below: Before the roads connected
Below: September 1972 opening ceremonies.
Below: Governor Evans and Miss Washington 1972, Connie Ambrose, a member of the Yakima tribe.
Below: Seasonal opening day 1974
