We went counterclockwise because we didn't want to go up the North Fork Sauk switchbacks. This may or may not have been the right call.

Pilot Ridge: Steep, not much better than the north fork sauk switchbacks. No water between a stream ~1mi before gaining the ridge crest and Blue Lake itself. Wildflowers are a little past prime on most of Pilot Ridge.

Johnson Mountain: Wildflowers were FANTASTIC, peaking over the weekend. Johnson is a worthy side trip for sure with some cool (sparse) history being an old lookout site. Most purple aster I've ever seen in one place in my life. Can camp on top.

Blue Lake: Busy. Campsites full. Clean though.

High traverse over to Dishpan Gap/Kodak: Dry

Kodak Peak: Easy ridge trail from the east shoulder. Camping on top. No water. Many wildflowers.

White Pass: Lots of water (finally!) between Kodak and White Pass (and all the way out). Wildflowers peaking/totally insane around White Pass. Like the WTA poster pic for the description.

More pics/details in the link.

WARNING: The North Fork Sauk River Trail is closed between the Mackinaw Shelter and the PCT until 8/15/19 for construction projects including blasting. You will need to take alternative trails to reach the White Pass area. The North Fork Sauk Road will also be closed from 8/19-8/31/19 because the FS is mean and likes to close popular roads during the peak of backpacking season :)

I headed out Thursday to hike the Blue Lake/Pilot Ridge Loop, and what an adventure it was! I gave myself four days but it only took three, including side exploration. The road out to the trailhead is in much better shape than when I last drove it in June. The FS must have done some grading and washout repair and it shows! I had high clearance but anything higher than a lowrider will make it fine. The guidebook says to drop packs at Bald Eagle, park back at the North Fork Sauk TH, and walk the road to begin the hike. Getting a bit of a later start than I usually prefer, I chose to park at the Bald Eagle TH and hike the road at the end.

I signed the register and headed into the wild. I was a bit concerned by earlier trip reports that described Bald Eagle as being overgrown and difficult to follow. I didn’t find this to be the case at all; the trail was smooth, clear, and quite a joy to hike. There are several beautiful rock waterfalls along the way, flowers, mushrooms, and butterflies! Once at Curry Gap, the trail enters the meadows and stays in the meadows for the rest of the journey to June Mountain. I didn’t see another soul all day, and was pleasantly surprised by my rapid progress to the junction of the Pilot Ridge Trail. On a side note, there is cell service at the top of June Mountain, a perfect vantage to text beautiful photos to jealous friends stuck at work.

I descended then ascended to Little Blue Lake and set up camp at a small tarn just before you reach the lake proper. As dusk deepened, the lake basin became shrouded in mist and gave the place a real LOTR vibe. A party of three ladies arrived at the lake just before dark and set up camp on the other side of the tarn, the first people I’d seen so far! I woke early the next morning, broke camp and headed to (big) Blue Lake for breakfast. The turn off to the lake can be easy to miss. There is a sign but it’s low to the ground and a bit smashed. If you turn left (northwest) and start climbing high up the slope of Johnson Mountain, you’ve gone too far. Blue lake was rather crowded, with around 5 parties all gearing up to tackle either Pilot Ridge or the High Route. I ate a few backpacker’s gyros (instant hummus on tortilla w/beef jerky & hot sauce) then set out for the High Route to the PCT.

The High Route is a real butt-kicker to be sure, but it’s mercifully short. The views from the high pass are beyond what words can describe. Once back on the Bald Eagle Trail, the way passes through meadows to Dishpan Gap and the PCT. I turned north and made my way through vertical meadows to Indian Pass & Kodak Peak. I took the mandatory side trip up Kodak then retreated to the pass for lunch. The weather was still blustery and wet from rain in the morning so I hunkered in a clump of trees while I ate. Turning back south, I returned to Dishpan and took the Bald Eagle Trail back to the Pilot Ridge Trail, this time by going around the hills rather than over the High Route. Past the junction with the HR, the Bald Eagle gets more eroded and overgrown. It’s still easy to follow, but the mountain is eating away at this section of trail and a slip could end badly. That said, there are a ton of marmots in this area! And I got a lot of close up encounters with the young ones, a few of which ran almost right up to me in curiosity. I also heard the occasional explosion coming from near White Pass, which I would later find out was blasting from construction on the trail. At the time though, I thought maybe someone was hunting bears with a cannon. Cannon hunting, that’s not weird at all, right? I looped back around to the lakes and set up camp at Blue Lake near where I had breakfast. The evening was beautiful and I noticed the same three ladies from the night before were camped nearby, but there were no other parties at the lake. Just before dawn it began to rain heavily and flooded the campsite everywhere except the tiny hillock where I was sleeping (victory!). I did get a couple small streams flowing under the tarp but I was dry perched on my bivvy bag and air pad. The mountains were merciful though and stopped the rain right around 8 a.m. allowing me to break camp and head for the Pilot Ridge Trail without getting drenched.

The Pilot Ridge Trail is in great condition, despite not receiving a lot of maintenance in many years. The trail up to the lookout site on Johnson Mountain was in great shape too and the junction was easy to find even in the mist (broken sign on cairn). There are a few blowdowns on the trail, but only one requires any real effort to get over/under/around. The meadows are incredible and seem to go on forever. The marmots, pikas and chipmunks are out in force, so too are the hawks! Watch out, little dudes! There were no views when I was up there due to the thick fog, but I still had many misty miles of moist meadow meaderings to keep me happy. Dr. Seuss plants abound, and the mushrooms! So many shrooms!

Descending the PRT is enjoyable, but going up is a death march. The trail is very long and very, very steep the entire way. I ran into a few parties headed UP as I neared the North Fork Sauk, including a party of 8 headed for Glacier’s summit. I wish them luck and success but I do not envy the climb. If you’re planning on going up near White Pass from the North Fork Sauk area during the trail closure, I seriously recommend ascending the Bald Eagle Trail and NOT the Pilot Ridge Trail.

I made it to the river and crossed a log to meet up with the N. Fork Sauk River Trail. Heading left, I made it to the trailhead where I learned via warning signs about the blasting construction on the switchbacks between Mackinaw Shelter and the PCT. I walked the road back to my car and drove home where I cooked and ate enough spaghetti to feed 4 people.

In short: This was the perfect summer ramble in the PNW. If you’re looking for good solid fun and adventure on quality trails with awesome views, flowers, wildlife, the works, this is it. Oh, and the berries are ripening so there’s even free food! Why aren’t you packing your bag yet?

“To the east the outflung arm of the mountains marched to a sudden end, and far lands could be descried beyond them, wide and vague. To the south the Misty Mountains receded endlessly as far as sight could reach. Less than a mile away, and a little below them, for they still stood high up on the west side of the dale, there lay a mere. It was long and oval, shaped like a great spear-head thrust deep into the northern glen; but its southern end was beyond the shadows under the sunlit sky. Yet its waters were dark: a deep blue like clear evening sky seen from a lamp-lit room. Its face was still and unruffled. About it lay a smooth sward, shelving down on all sides to its bare unbroken rim.”

 -J.R.R. Tolkien, “The Fellowship of the Ring”

Trail running loop starting at North Fork Sauk trailhead covering 28 miles and 7,500 ft of gain. The NF Sauk road to the trailhead is in good shape, I had no issues getting my Prius to the trailhead although there are 2-3 spots with old washouts that require care. 

I did the loop counter-clockwise starting at N Fork Sauk TH although next time I would probably go clockwise. After 3 miles on FS road 49, the Curry Gap trail (650) continues with a smooth uphill on a old road grade. I quickly reached 3900 ft at Curry Gap which is overgrown with wildflowers but easy to navigate. Turning left in a field at a marked junction just past a campsite, the Bald Eagle trail begins with switchbacks and excellent views of Monte Cristo. This section is also slightly overgrown but the tread of the trail is in good shape. 

The real treat begins upon reaching the ridgeline around 8.5 miles in. The next 5 miles were mostly smooth, runnable uphill through meadows with views to the south and occasionally north toward Glacier Peak. I took a slight detour at 13.5 to summit June Mountain and get some additional views. Almost immediately after June Mtn there is a left on the Pilot Ridge trail which begins with a 900' rocky descent and passes just to the left of lower Blue Lake where I accidentally turned toward the campsites at the lake but quickly corrected myself. Make sure to top off your water supply in this area since there is none on Pilot Ridge. 

After a brief stop at the lake (any extended stop was met with swarms of bugs), the trail ascends smoothly upward toward Pilot Ridge. Stay left again where the Blue Lake trail veers off. After another big switchback there is signed right turn option toward Johnson Mountain. I took the side trip which was about 1.2 miles and 650' of extra gain. Well worth the extra effort for the marmots and fantastic views atop Johnson Mtn, even with a bit of wildfire smoke obscuring the more distant peaks. 

Upon returning to the Pilot Ridge trail there were two small snowfield crossings that were easy to navigate and will be gone soon. This section of Pilot Ridge was the best of the entire loop, 5 miles of smooth running with mixed up/downhills. It was HOT out there and I started to get low on water and thought I was beginning the descent to the Sauk, but the trail surprised me with a final 400' climb that required a couple of brief rests. On the actual descent there is a water source at ~4,500 ft. At this point I saw 2 backpackers who were the first people I had seen the entire day! The steep trail down Pilot Ridge is hard on tired legs which is why one might prefer to do this loop in the other direction with the softer descent down to Curry Gap. There are several big logs over the Sauk which make for an easy crossing. The final 1.9 miles on the N Fork Sauk trail feature numerous old grown Firs and Cedars--a perfect way to end a long day. 

A few of us had this hike on our list for a while so we decided to make three-day trip of it. The parking lot was very full but mostly from groups headed for Glacier Peak. The trail starts off easy through old growth forest along the river before climbing steeply for three miles to get to White Pass where we camped the first night. After this point we ran into a couple other groups occasionally but mostly had the trail to ourselves. The second day was mostly easy miles, staying high on ridges with views changing constantly. We took the shortcut route as described in WTA at Blue Lake and it's debatable if we actually saved much time at all. If you like scrambling a bit it may be worth it but it could be a bit much for some. A short detour to Kodak Peak was worth the effort and Johnson Mountain's former lookout site is even better, though it does have a step that could be intimidating for some. We made day 2 a bit long just to shorten our trip out on the last day and found a small camp on the ridge about 7 miles out from the TH. There were sites further along the ridge before descending but it would have been too long of a day for us. This loop provides a ton of views relative to the amount of effort put in.