By November the Cascade River Road will be gated at MP 19 (Eldorado Creek trail head), requiring an extra ~3.5 mile hike to reach the Cascade Pass trail head. The road is typically drivable to MP 19 through December most years, unless a tree or washout blocks the road. Whether the shutdown ends in time and NCNP re-opens by your visit is yet to be seen.

Extra 3.5? I thought it was 3 miles. I admit though that this assumption is completely based on the mile markers. Is that why hiking to Cascade Pass felt like a workout?

I don't recall what the exact mileage is, I do recall it was at least 3 miles. Road walking always seems more onerous than trail walking to me.

Autoxfil wrote:I will likely be in Seattle for work on or around Nov 13th. I should be able to swing a day off to do something fun.

Should I expect the Twin Sisters to be snow-free? Any other places for long day climbs not too far from Everett with a max difficulty of 3rd class or self-arrest-able-snow? I'm pretty fit and fast, so 10 mile approaches are ok.

If you do get out here and you do bring your gear with you, PM me. It may not be amazing but it will be better than nothing. Just don't think it will be Mox Peaks or Boston Peak. You may get lucky and hit a weather window.