Jenna & Riley’s entire relationship revolves around their love of the outdoors–backpacking, hiking, camping, and adventuring. They told me crazy tales of their mad adventures in the wilds of Washington (and elsewhere) and how they’d been dreaming of maybe… backpacking for their wedding? I’m a consummate enabler of this kind of thing, and after tossing around a few locations of note, final plans were made for a backpacking elopement in a remote section of the North Cascades.
On a fine August morning, the full party of nine gathered, tucked last-minute items into backpacks and made their way through fields of huckleberries (lots of snacking occurred), wildflowers and wild views. Originally planning to get married at sunrise, Jenna & Riley arrived in camp and everyone got ready for a relaxing evening. Slowly, the light started shifting. Golden, vibrant, tempting. The tarn near our camp was dead still, threatening to reflect the mountain behind it with a perfect mirror surface.
Jenna got a twinkle in her eye: “What if we did it tonight instead?”
With gusto, everyone pulled out their wedding gear and transformed from sweaty backpackers to bridesmaids, groomsmen, officiant and intended. It was astonishingly efficient: dresses installed while crunched into tents, lint rolling suits hanging from rocks, hair and makeup handled. I handed Jenna her flowers and off she went down the trail to the cliff, purple and gold light reflecting off her dress and hair.
As the ceremony progressed, the light shifted and changed. Tendrils of clouds flew by above. Mist sank down into the valley next to us. I could barely mop my jaw off the trail, my attention divided between tracking the ever-changing light, the beautiful interactions taking place between the wedding party, and trying not to trip and fall into the tarn as I quietly dashed about. What an astonishing scene. Pure North Cascades mountain magic.
After the ceremony, the light show continued all the way into the darkness. The misty valley caught the sunset light in ways I’ve never seen before, then the Milky Way appeared above us like a giant starry rainbow. In the true darkness, we all finally settled down to change clothes, make dinners, and perform final setup our neglected tents (a diverse and delightful family of MSR, REI, Nemo and, of course, the bride & groom’s Durston X-Mid).
The following morning, the mist completely occupied our camp for several hours. The mountains started to peek out after breakfast and we did some final group photos and portraits before packing up camp and hiking out into more glorious weather. It was an unforgettable, GORGEOUS 24+ hours–this adventure will stay with me for a long time.
Backpacking Elopement Location: North Cascades / Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
Watch the gorgeous wedding film by Adventurous Wedding Films/Atelier Pictures genius, Jonathan Marrs (he’s also a badass backpacking buddy who hauled 50+ pounds of film/camping gear up that hill):
