North Fork Sauk River — Saturday, Jul. 23, 2011

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

In preparation for my Aug 2nd-6th climb of Glacier Peak i decided to head up and Mt Bike the 6.6 mile NF Sauk Road and Hike appx 3 miles up the NF Sauk River trail to get a feel for it. The road was actually in pretty good shape so its closure is a bit of a mystery to me. The Darrington Ranger Station says it'll most likely remain closed until September, making this remote volcano even more quiet and remote. The trail through the old growth forest was wonderful and meanders gradually up towards the NF Sauk Headwaters. I did experience a few trees over the trail but nothing too extreme. There's also a washout appx 1.5 miles up where a creek stole part of the trail but its quite easy to hop, skip, and jump your way across. All and all a beautiful day and a most beautiful place.