North Fork Sauk River — Saturday, Jul. 30, 2011

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

Forest Service Road 49 is still closed at MP 0, although the washouts at Penders canyon have obvious repairs, there is no sign of contractors replacing culverts, nor is there any sign the Lost Creek bridge in any stage of replacement. Are repairs still on schedule? If not why not open the road. Enough of that rant. Got a late start did not arrive at the road closure until 10:30 am. The road make for a pleasant bicycle ride. The majority of the tail is in good shape. There are some old growth blow downs a half mile in. None are impediment to hikers, as it is simple to walk around. Beyond blow downs are sporadic, again simple to get around. About a 1.5 miles, flooding erased some of the trail. The creek is easy to hop over though. In places fast growing brush is already hiding the trail. Nettles are present in all brushy sections. A break at the Makinaw Shelter was short lived. The area is infested with Fleas! I've never encountered that many fleas. Charging up the final 3 miles 3000 foot vertical gain to the PCT was a mistake. I quickly became heat exhausted, and retreated to the Sauk River to cool down. As i was only out for the day, i ran short on time to tackle that portion of the trail. So i make my return trip. Round trip 28 miles 10.5 hours.