Pilot Ridge, Blue Lake High, Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Section K - Stevens Pass to Rainy Pass & North Fork Sauk River — Saturday, Jul. 25, 2009

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

Pilot Ridge -- North Fork Sauk Loop, 30 mi. There's a reason I've done this 2-3 times. A favorite. Thanks to the road and trail crews. This hike circumambulates the entire headwaters of the N. Fork Sauk, off the Mtn. Loop Hwy. Why merely "hike" when you can "circumambulate"? Two 15 mile days make a fine weekend loop, but it can soak up a lot more time than that. It features some low-level old-growth hiking in the N. Fk. Sauk, but it's mostly wide-open ridge hiking above timberline in vast subalpine meadows with stunning views and 1 insect per flower. I recommend midsummer with water still available and wildflowers peaking, i.e., mid July, but anytime with clear visibility will be excellent. It would be a shame to do this trip with impaired views. DEET. Can be very dry in late season. I suggest counterclockwise; this way you'll gain your elevation in the morning shade on a north slope instead of hiking up the south-facing avalanche chute on N. Fk. Sauk Trail in the heat of midday amid maddening bugs, and you'll be hiking out tired on a usually well-maintained trail. Note: N. Fk. Sauk Tr. gets a lot of avalanche and blowdown damage, so check conditions. The route offers 5 walk-up summits: Johnson, Pt. 6562, Kodak, Indian Head (7400), and White Mt (7000). A weekend will not offer time for all of these without controlled substances. Pilot Ridge #652: North Fork Sauk crossing logs are easy, look durable. Check them out before you go clockwise. Less-maintained but in good-enough shape. Climbing steeply up N. slope, it crosses one reliable stream and a smaller stream in a high basin which may dry up in Aug/Sept. This may be your last water until Blue Lake! 7/26/09, there are tiny snow remnants along the ridge and some substantial snow patches under Johnson Mt. that may last through August, but this trail can be brutally hot and dry. Vast meadows in full bloom with world-class views of Sloan and Monte Cristo Range. Get used to it; more follows. Unusual lightning weather robbed us of 3 summits, but ordinarily, Johnson Mt. is de rigeur. We waited out the thundershower at Upper Blue Lake and saw lightning strikes on Johnson. Blue Lake is a lovely campsite. The lake is open; the previous weekend, it was not. Blue Lake High Route #652.1: Mandatory; don't even think of the lower, longer way around, which might even be more work. Drop your pack at the pass and stroll the few hundred easy feet to the summit of Pt. 6562 (higher than Skykomish, June, Benchmark, and Kodak). Unnamed, I call this "Johnson's Little Sister" or "Mt. Woebegone"; with Johnson, it guards the headwaters of N. Fork Sauk, North Fork Skykomish, Sloan Creek, and Little Wenatchee River. A summit snowpatch provides water for an unforgettable bivvy in settled weather with a 358-degree view, which the unusual lightning hazard precluded this time. Dishpan Gap: This is the halfway point. We camped here. Late season, the nearest water might be just below Ward's Pass on the east side. Kodak Peak: If you don't include this easy, scenic summit, trade in your boots for knitting gear. Johnson and 6562, which look so gentle from the other side, are steep and imposing from the east. A fine campsite is 100 yds. up the ridge from the trail at the divide, with shade, and reliable water not far below on the east slopes of Kodak. This might be a better midpoint than Dishpan Gap, but I like to bivvy on Pt. 6562, carefully. Indian Head Peak: Reliable water coming off Indian Head just north of Indian Creek Pass. Easiest ascent begins near jct. with White Creek Trail. Get one of those water bladders from a Starbuck's box, or pack a bag of snow, and you can hump a night's worth of water to a summit like this and spend a night to remember. Did that once. Minor Class 2 or class 3 scrambling near the top. Still a snowpatch along the PCT here, and some stagnant ponds that one could filter or boil. From here to White Pass, it's subalpine meadows to die for, backpacker heaven. A thundershower just missed us, and gave us a rainbow BELOW us in White R. valley. White Pass: Camp is just below the crest on the west. Must be water here somewhere. Reliable-looking stream west of White Pass on the PCT. Glorious place. An obvious, older (sheepherders'?) trail traverses NE along the east flank of White Mtn.; you can follow this as far as possible, then return to the pass via White Mtn. Again, a thundershower provided an alibi for skipping White Mt.; don't miss this if you've not been there before. North Fork Sauk #649: Darrington USFS trail crews have been doing major work here in the middle of an all-time record heat wave. Think of them as you pass. They had it all cleared out, just in time for me. Do your part to clear what you can. New log bridge over Rec Creek will be finished by the time you read this; I got to see the job in-progress, with big cable winches. Thanks to Mindy, who gave me spare camera batteries. Just walkin' the dog.