Did the full adventure all the way to the peak. Took the Sahale glacier route, which largely has a clear bootpath up, although one goes a little close to comfort to an open crevasse. Roped up for safety but we saw many who weren't so it's doable and I guess depends on your risk tolerance. Scrambled the final section and rappelled down. I think you could scramble down without a rope but see above on risk tolerance. Was an overcast day with a few sprinkles, but oh man, the views! So many glaciers and peaks to identify! Will definitely do this again on a clear day, although if you don't want to scramble, the ledge right before the final section has almost the same views. 

Saw a momma bear and cub, lots of goats, marmots and pikas and deer. Bluberries and huckleberries are starting to ripen, yum!

Made a successful summit of Sahale 8/13. If anyone lost a BD trekking pole that day, I've got it, leave a comment and we'll find a way to get it back to you.

This is an excellent trip for a taste of good alpine climbing. Road to TH was just graded so we were able to go much faster than Google predicted. Guessing this ends up being slower as the road condition degrades. Trail up the Sahale Arm is extremely pleasant. Easy grade, great condition on the trail. The Sahale glacier is in great shape with only a few open cracks that are extremely easy to avoid. My group of two did not rope up, although some teams were. The final summit scramble wraps around to the right and includes one class 4 move. The rock is great so it didn't feel sketchy, just went slow. We rapped off the summit on the existing anchors that look good but are getting a bit old (date was 2/17). A 60m rope gets your a further rappel, but a 40m rope should get you to a ledge that is an easy downclimb from there. 

Overall this is an excellent destination with just the right amount of distance, gain, and technicality. The views on Sahale and from the arm are outstanding and just keep on giving.

Did not summit the final block due to lack of climbing gear but turned around from the notch below the summit. Road open all the way to cascade pass trailhead. Crevasses are open on both upper and lower snowfield. Most of the crevasses were easy to spot. So many mountain goats specially around the Sahale camp. Reliable sources of water to refill just before the pass(0.3 mile) and just after the pass(0.1 mile). Only other source of water just below the camp around 400 feet on the trail everything else is just slow trickle which will waste lot of time.

Road to trailhead(TH):
Road in great condition. At 7:30am only 10 cars in parking lot probably because many backpackers who started on Saturday parked at mile 20 and walked 3 miles. Heavy equipment which fixed the road still parked on roadside. Last 2 miles has 90% paved section with small sections of dirt which I guess they are still working and want to make this whole section paved. Toilet were clean and stocked. Temperature in rockport was 65F and TH was 74F. The wind blowing was warmer at times. It was going to be hot day.

TH to Cascade Pass:
The trail is completely dry and in great condition. Endless switchbacks under tree cover finally opens up and trail becomes more rocky and talus field crossings. Columbines were plentiful in all the dried stream bed areas. There is only one reliable source of water before the pass which can be seen early in the attached video. Everything else was just mud or too less of trickle to capture. I was able to power through this section since it was in shade and not that hot in morning. Once in open area the views open up and you have Johannesburg in front and Eldorado and others in the back. The views in this section makes it worth do this trail just to the pass if you have time or physical limits. Reached cascade pass around 9am and met a group of 6 people who were returning from sahale camp. 

Cascade Pass to Doubtful Lake Junction:
After pass you turn left and from first fork you stay left (right goes to Stehekin). Switchbacks in this section had no shade or wind. It was hot in this section even at 9:30am. The views gets better with each switchback. After the switchback ends the trail is mellows and you reach junction to doubtful lake. You see waterfalls roaring across the arm with water gushing into the snow bridges above the lake. Met bunch of other backpackers on the way up while they were coming down many of those had a long walk to their car once they will reach TH I recommended them taking a ride from someone.

Doubtful Lake Junction to Boston Basin bushwhacking:
The views are best in this section and the meadows are full with heather and other flowers. There are so many trails here probably due to goats as many of them seem to go nowhere, under a tree or to edge. Saw a goat under a tree and got excited. Little did I know there there were so many goats that you want to be left alone and dont wanna encounter more goats. The saddle facing Eldrodao has nice view of Boston basin as well. Last time 8 years ago I was here I never observed all these features as I was too tired with the hike but today I had enough time to enjoy and stroll around in the meadows. I tried to go to Boston basin from the meadows but I think the distance on goat trail or no trail was a significant amount of time so after half hour I turned back. Earlier I was planning to hug the wall between boston and sahale basin but then I saw rockfall happening twice while I was approaching this area so dropped the idea. Saw multiple goats with babies in this area. After coming back to sahale trail I filled water at a stream below the camp. The water seemed to be sprouting out of the ground and flowing throwing the delicate meadows into a tarn below. 

Meadows to Sahale Camp:
Started hiking the last scree filled section to camp and heat and bugs again made it horrible quickly. The trail is lost in talus field multiple times. There are cairns to help with general direction but I was always puzzled if I was on write trail or not. However the views kept on getting better. Took multiple breaks in this section as the heat slowed me down significantly but with each break I had time to appreciate the views. Glaicer peak also strated to appear between the ridge of mixup peak and magic mountain. 

Sahale Glacier to Sahale Peak:
Once at base I explored the area and went east and saw goat poop everywhere on snow and on land. There were 2 goats constantly following me in this area. You could see trappers lake from the eastern side of the camp. I headed up and followed the bootsteps from previous hikers. Snow was compact and there were many many glissade paths from previous hikers in this section. This section is very steep and even at 11:30 am the snow was soft to kick in steps but not slushy. If there were no previous boothpath I would need crampons in this area but thanks to previous hikers I didnt need them today. So the slope mellows down and the ridge that you saw from bottom is just change in slope and the snowfield continues. 

After the second change in incline (false ridge) you could really see all the open cracks. The terrain here now was steeper and ice axe would be highly recommended. I didnt see anyone above me or coming down. There was a boot pack all the way the to climb of the summit block. I turned around may be 100 feet below the summit and went to the notch from where I could see all the peaks towards Eldorado and Quein Sabe basin is below you. There are so many crevasses in Quein Sabe glacier that you cannot count. I think the traverse from Boston basin to Sahale Arm would be painful at this point in time. 

Sahale Peak to Cascade Camp:
After having my oven roasted sandwich (which was supposed to be a cold sandwich) I started heading down. While coming down I saw a big crevasse open right next to the ridge where I was walking earlier. After 0.5 mile and 400feet lower I saw four more people coming up on the same footsteps as mine. After talking to them I started to glissade in the section. The runouts there are long so no risk of bumping into anything. Back at the camp I talked to a couple visiting from Bend Oregon and impressed by the beauty of NCNP as they did Maple Pass yesterday. Goats were roaming around and never let you alone.

Sahale Camp to Cascade Pass:

 After refilling water from a stream I headed down and missed the trail again and launched a rockfall accidentally, thankfully no one was hurt. Once below the loose scree and talus field I took a sigh of relief and sauntered around for another hour and soaked in as much views I could. Even saw a ptarmigan with 7 baby chicks in the meadows. I filled water again before the pass. There were many mountain goats roaming on the trail now, blocking the trail for multiple minutes at different places, watching you from the top of some hill or rocks as you are encroaching their privacy. I gave them space and waited for them to leave the trail before I could continue. All that yielding broke the trail running momentum multiple times. 

Cascade Pass to TH:

Met a couple with 2.5 year old sleeping in the tow they were gonna camp at Pelton basin, I admired their efforts and love for the outdoors. It was so hot while coming down from cascade pass to TH that I had to pour water multiple times on my head and face to cool down. It took me more time to return from Cascade pass to TH than when I went up. I was walking slowly to avoid overheating. Feet took most of the brunt while I tried to use as less compound muscles as possible. Refilled water again from another stream and splashed water multiple times from whichever trickle I could. Back at TH at 4pm and parking lot was more than 50% empty. Temperature in car was 86F. which reduced to 84F even after 30 minutes on cascade river road. 

15 miles and 5000ft gain/loss. Used 6L of water, having filter was a really helpful to not carry all the water from car.

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. 

The road to the cascade pass trailhead is open! Despite recent reports, the bugs were not too bad and were only a minor annoyance. Be careful of the horse flies at Sahale Glacier camp though, with occasional swatting they are not a problem but you do not want to get bit by one. The trail is in good condition and there is no snow before the camp. We saw tons of mountain goats, marmots, and even a bear! There are several fires to the East whose plumes of smoke you can see towering like dense clouds in the distance - depending on the winds it can affect the views.

We also climbed towards Sahale peak/mountain. The crevasses on Sahale glacier are fairly minimal compared to other glaciers in the area and mostly easy to avoid but there is a large one on the slope just below the peak. We did not rope up and were able to ascend and descend across the middle. The scramble to the top is fairly straight forward until the last 100 ft or so where it becomes very exposed and a little crumbly. With careful climbing we were able to get up and down without gear. Surprisingly, the tall peak that can be seen from camp has a USGS bench mark labeled 'Boston' even though Boston Peak is further down the ridgeline. The small knub to right (as looking from camp) has the USGS bench mark labeled 'Sahale E.T.'. We were very confused and after much research decided the 'Boston' labled peak is Sahale Mountain but most people refer to it as Sahale Peak and the 'Sahale ET' labeled peak in Sahale Peak. BUT we are still unsure why the tall peak would have a USGS bench mark labeled 'Boston' - if you know why, please comment below!