North Fork Sauk River, Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Section K - Stevens Pass to Rainy Pass — Sunday, Aug. 1, 2010

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

A late start and I hiked into Macinaw Shelter for the night, setting up my tent just before the rain hit. Comfortable temperatures and very few bugs! Shared the space with a family of three. It rained most of the night and I awoke to low clouds that didn't look like they would burn off anytime soon. So I abandoned my plans to hike out over Pilot Ridge, left my tent standing and overnight gear behind, and dayhiked out to Red Pass and up Portal Peak. The trail was very soggy and surprisingly eroded in places. I found a party of Moutaineers on the top of Portal, also hoping for a break in the clouds. No such luck. I snapped a cloud photo and descended back to my camp, packed up my gear, and hiked out to my car.