North Fork Sauk River — Monday, Aug. 10, 2009

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

We started out on the morning of the 10th. Just as we reached the washed out bridge at Red Creek the crew that is fixing it arrived to start work for the day. There is a log in place as of August 13th and they have flattened the top. Their plan is to have it done by week ending August 22nd. If you arrive before it is completed there is an easy crossing on a wide log downstream or a slightly difficult to reach crossing upstream on two parallel logs. After Red creek the trail has a few spots where you have to watch for nettles. Hikers have beat them back but they are still there. Going up the switch-backs the trail is now clear (Thanks trail crew!) all the way up to white pass. We camped for two cloudy days. In that time the weather only permitted a small day hike down to Reflection Pond and the surrounding area. The wildlife in the camping area of White Pass was incredible. We saw a couple different kinds of butterflies, a grouse family supervised the bathroom facilities, and a marmot family presided over all. In fact all up and down the PCT we saw all of these creatures over and over. Going down the North Fork Sauk Trail again we noticed that the maples are turning color already. What a great hike. From spring to fall and from old growth to meadows among mountaintops.