This mostly road status update.

The 180,000lbs boulder at mile post 6.5 was recently removed (by the county, I assume) and all "road closed" barricades are gone. The sign at mile point 1 still says "road closed ahead at mile 6". My guess is removal of that sign is a different work order and will be done eventually. 

Point is, the road is open. 

What I don't know is where the snow starts, and how far up blowdowns have been removed. 

The road to Lookout mtn trailhead (mile post 7.5-ish) is clear and suitable for all vehicles. 

I'd bet a pretty penny that the road is at least drivable to the end of the pavement, past milepoint 10 and the turn-off to Hidden Lake Lookout trail. 

If you go there, post additional info in the comments. 

Boston Basin approach trail is snow-free to the lower camp around 5400'. The lower camp toilet is available, and snowfields around the Quien Sabe Glacier start around 6800' and the glacier has visible crevasse openings, rockfall from Boston Peak, and cracks likely to continue opening as the summer heat continues. One bear was active between the lower and upper camps, and we had one mountain goat hanging around lower camp. 

On our hike in and out, Cascade River Road was still closed at the Eldorado Trailhead, adding around 2.5 miles of road walking each way to the approach. Biting black flies on the approach were fairly continual, we didn't bring bug spray, but would be recommended in the next few weeks.  Once on the approach trail, the first mile is decent tread with overgrown shrubs, followed by steep, crumbly steps and veg belays, before reaching nicer trail again with a few switchbacks through the forest.

Sunday afternoon, July 24, the first three stream crossings were manageable with dry feet, but the final stream crossing immediately before the lower camp was challenging and would be impassible with higher water. With hot days July 25-26, we changed our plans to depart early on the 27th when water levels were about 1-2' lower than their peak flows to minimize the risk of being swept away. Hiking poles make the stream crossings much easier. 

July 25, we traversed snow above high camp and climbed Aguille du I'M, which is a class 4 scramble below the West Ridge of Forbidden. The route and rappel station were in good condition. 

July 26, we climbed Sahale from the Quien Sabe Glacier, leaving camp at 6:30 and summiting around 11am at a slow pace with many breaks. The rappel station only has one good rope sling, so consider bringing a backup to leave behind if needed. Soft snow allowed for plunge stepping until below major crevasses at 7200' and glissading or shoe-skiing from there down to the slab streams above low camp. 

This is mostly a road condition report. Trails are 100% snow covered, with new avalanche debris seen near Cascade pass.

The road is open and snow free, and suitable for all vehicles except sports cars with very low clearance, to the Eldorado Peak trail trailhead, at mile point 19.9. Road is closed to traffic after that. I ran up the road to the Cascade pass trail parking lot and back. Encountered one tree down and one avalanche remnant partly across the road between the road closure and the LARGE washout just before mile 22. This will require some heavy machinery to clear and to get the road back in shape for vehicle travel.

Snow starts shortly after the washout and quickly gets rather deep, with 3-8 ft depth by the time you get to the bathrooms at the trailhead. 

Speaking of, to my surprise, the bathroom was unlocked AND well stocked with TP!!!!

On my way up I suddenly heard a loud boom. My first thoughts were explosion or fighter jet flyover, but both seemed very unlikely. When I looked up I saw the tail end of an avalanche (off Johannesburg mountain) go over a cliff. Later on, from higher up, I saw a rather large new avalanche debris field at the bottom of that cliff. Looking up and down the valley there were probably a dozen large avalanches that had come down in the last few days, including some that started near Cascade pass.

I also crossed the Cascade River at the Eldorado Peak trail start, but could not find a way to get across without stepping through some water. River level wasn't very high and the crossing is not difficult. 

A quick update to the previous report.

The Cascade River Road is still gated at Mile 18 (the Eldorado climber's trail). Foot traffic is permitted up to Boston Basin and Cascade Pass (thank you fujiappleee for the correction!!).

There were a number of folks who were heading up Friday when I went up to Eldorado and the parking lot was packed when I returned today. I didn't see enough people heading up Eldorado to warrant the amount of cars I saw at the trailhead, so I assume other folks we’re heading further up the Cascade River Rd.

The Eldorado Trail parking lot has room for about 30-some cars and cars were lining the road back past the bridge. Please leave room for other cars to exit (don't double park) and leave enough space for 2 cars to pass.

Thank you 🙏!!

Please also note that anecdotally the air was smoky today from Eldorado Peak at sunrise; the smoky smell persisted all the way down the climber's trail to varying degrees. I expect similar, if not worse conditions towards Boston Basin and Cascade Pass as they're further east.

I have often looked a Google Earth and wondered if a traverse across Boston Basin to Sahale Arm was possible without a whole lot of technical scrambling.  Finally decided it was time to give it a try.

I decided to start at the Cascade Pass Trailhead for the proposed loop.  Road is in great shape for the most part until the recent washout that has just been fixed.  A bit rough there but shouldn't be an issue for any vehicle.  When I got to the trailhead at about 7:00 AM, it was mostly empty.  Restroom was clean and well stocked with TP.

Jogged down the road to the Boston Basin Trailhead and hopped on the trail.  I expected this trail to be much worse than it was.  There are a few spots where you have to use your hands to scramble up some rock sections but for the most part, it felt "easier" than say, the old trail on Mailbox.  Plus the views are a tad bit better.  The three creek crossings were straightforward at that time of the morning and I didn't even get my feet wet. I could see where later in the day in late spring/early summer where they could be a challenge.

After the last creek crossing, you are out of the trees and all I can say is..."wow".  Such an alpine paradise.  Eldorado, Forbidden, Boston are all front and center. Johannesburg looming to the south. Dozens of cascading waterfalls, wildflowers, marmots basking in the sun.  A bit of everything!  I continued to follow the trail towards Forbidden, passing a few campsites and taking it all in.  I scrambled up as far as I felt comfortable and took a break at about 7,200'. 

After my break, it was time to get to work to see if the route would go.  I dropped back down to about 6,600' and started to work my way east across the basin.  The rock ledges made for fairly easy travel and the biggest concern was the small patches of undercut snow from the meltwater of the glaciers.  I navigated these as best I could but this route is certainly for those experienced in this kind of travel. 

I ascended to the toe of the Quien Sabe Glacier and it was sobering to see just how melted out and broken up it was at this time of year.  I took another break here before continuing on.  It was more of the same of working my way across ledges and snowfields.  Through most of this, the terrain was smooth rock with some talus sections.  At one section, large chunks of ice had broken from the glacier and rolled downhill. Let's just say, I moved quickly through this area pausing to get one shot before getting clear.

As I moved further east, I knew I was hitting the crux of the traverse.  There looked to be a difficult section that I was going to need to get through.  I dropped down on slabs to talus deposited from the glacier.  I spied what looked like a ledge system and moved across snow to it.  Sure enough, there was a ledge system that I could access.  This was by far the most technical part of the day and it reminded me of the Red Ledge on the Ptarmigan Traverse.  The ledges are wide but downsloping a bit and there is some exposure that made it feel a bit "airy".  But I quickly moved up the ledges and was back on talus.  I still couldn't see the Sahale Arm so wasn't sure if I was going to make it.

But some more talus traversing and finally I was on a flat "bench" of heather and could see the trail up Sahale Arm. Success!  Since there was plenty of time, I ascended the trail to Sahale Camp and worked my way over to where you drop down into Horseshoe Basin.  I didn't have enough time to check this out so will have to come back. 

The views from Sahale Camp are stunning and I took another break here.  For climbers, the glacier is starting to break up but I didn't see a lot of blue ice on it like I did the glaciers in Boston Basin.

From there, I just followed the trail back to Cascade Pass.  There are water sources at Sahale Camp and coming down Sahale Arm.  I saw a big ol' bear right by the pass but it didn't want a thing to do with me.  Also, quite a few goats in the area.

Then it was switchback city back to the trailhead to close the loop. There are a couple of trickles of water near the pass on the Cascade Pass trail but I wouldn't depend on them in the coming weeks.  Other than that, nothing really major to note on this trail. 

I put bugs not annoying as I hardly noticed any mosquitoes and the horseflies I encountered were so big and slow that they were easy to swat.   However, quite a few people were complaining about the bugs so I guess it's relative.  After last week though, they seemed non-existent to me. 

Amazing traverse!  Statwise it was about 15 miles and with my extra going up and down to check things out, it was 7k of gain.   Strava link provided to give an idea of the route.  I will note that my route isn't the most direct line as I was out "exploring".