Mountaineers trip there was wet but fun seeing all the moss, the river, mushrooms, big trees, and so forth. Road Condition: Highway 530 was bare and wet all the way past Darrington [Tip: Check Darrington High webcam to get an idea of trail conditions -- it's at 500 ft elev. and the trail's at 600 ft]. Debris on the road suggested in a couple places fallen greenery has recently been removed. Trail condition: Flooding earlier this December didn't impact this trail. Trail was open and passable. At the north trailhead there is a tree down the length of the trail as the trail bends to the right (see pic). There are 1/2 dozen blowdowns but they aren't hard to navigate except one that's a bit low (see other pic).

One big blowdown just minutes from the south trailhead is a bit of a pain to negotiate, as it lies right on the trail and is a long log. Past that, the re-routes are in place and working fine. A few side-channels or tributaries flowing into the Sauk are a bit of a challenge to cross. We were finally stopped at about 2 1/2 miles by a deep one with no obvious way across. But it's a great off-season low-elevation forest walk with the river to keep you company most of the way. Particularly nice on a rainy day.

Just a reminder about this beautiful forest walk. It's not a dark hike for the most part; much of it is near the river, so lots of light gets in. Lush, thick moss, big trees, the lovely aqua color of the Sauk River. It's interesting to see the piles of logs deposited by the floods of 2003 and 2006, and to see the washouts on the trail (which has been re-routed) and on the far side of the river. About 2 miles in, a huge chunk of mountain crashed into the river. A perfect choice for a cloudy or rainy day, or a great place to take kids (watch out for them when the trail goes near the river), or if you're not feeling well, but want to get out. Lots of wonderful photo opportunites. The color of the river is truly beautiful! A fellow hiker was napping in the deep moss next to the trail above the river. I passed him and about 10 minutes later decided to do the same. I found a nice patch of sunshine, reclined on a thick bed of moss, and let the sound of the river and the wind rustling the cottonwoods lull me. Long bands of silvery-green moss hanging from hemlocks were fluttering in the wind, and it was beautiful to watch it. I had an early dinner at the Home Town Bakery and Pizza shop in Darrington. They're open til 9 PM. Excellent pizza, very reasonably priced, and good, freshly made salads. Cash only!!! Home Town also has the book, ""Two Voices"" on sale there, written by the Bedal sisters (Jean and Edith); it's a narrative of their lives, history of the area, the trail builders, the lives of their neighbors, indian folklore and poems. Proceeds go to the historical society (checks are accepted for the book, made out to the society).

For the most part, the Old Sauk Trail survived last November's ark-rising floods. A section of about 500 feet 2 miles from the north trailhead or 1 mile from the south trailhead was lopped off and sent down to the Skagit. Wash-out can be easily walked around, but use caution. Trail rerouting in this area shouldn't prove too tricky. Cleaning up the North Trailhead will require some work. Lots of trash and burnt debris-an obvious party-spot. Use the north trailhead for peace-of-mind.

The trail is in good condition for the first 1.5 - 2 miles, with a few trees blown down in the trail. Pleasant, flat walk with lots of cool greenery. The blow downs are passable if you're willing to hop over or under them -- it's not always possible to go around them on flat ground. At about 2 miles, the bank has given way so the trail is very near the edge of the river, which is a little nerve wracking on the patchy snow and ice that dots the trail. But, this section, which only lasts about 20 yards, is passable by careful footing or by stepping a bit off the trail on the inland side. There are infrequent peakaboo views of surrounding snowy peaks, but the river is scenic, as it isn't showing the mounds of debris and mud some other waterways have following the recent flooding.