North Fork Sauk River — Friday, Oct. 26, 2012

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

It was dark and dreary and threatened to shower all day but I hadn't been out in 3 weeks was was getting cabin fever so I went with a river trail. I had been up this green, mossy, fungus and mushroom covered trail once before but only went 3.5 miles up to a camp by a creek. This time my goal was 5 miles up to the Mackinaw Shelter, the camp before the trail starts to really climb. I got to the trail from the Barlow Pass side of Mtn Loop Hwy, there was snow on the sides of the road at the pass but nothing on the road. The gravel road after the pass was rough in places with potholes but nothing serious all the way past Bedal to the FSR #49 turnoff. FSR #49 was in a little better shape than the main road but was still bumpy in places. I arrived at the trail head and I was the only one there as it would remain for the day. Once on the trail it showered off and on all day. The trees did a great job of sheltering me from the worst of it but the forest canopy was drippy. On the way back it was actually dry most the time until the last mile when the first real rain of the day hit. The trail quickly enters the Glacier Peak Wilderness (sign was missing, was there the previous trip) and was clear and easy to follow the whole way. There is one big blowdown earlier in the hike but it can be walked around fairly easy. There's water on the trail in places from the recent rains and a few small creeks to cross on the length of trail I did. Snow hugged the trail in patches the whole day but started covering parts of the trail after crossing a bridge at the camp 3.5 miles up. It never presented a problem but is a reminder of the shorter days ahead and that winter is coming. The trail rolled through the forest climbing few times while coming and going from the river bank. Along the way moss was the theme along with fading fall colors, snow, strange large fungi and mushrooms. I made it to Mackinaw Shelter and stayed for nearly 1/2 hour, had lunch, took pics and checked out the old wood structure. The thing was damp and drippy inside and I don't know if I would want to sleep in it. It was still a really neat thing to find deep in the forest. I almost missed seeing this, its on the right hand side, off the trail, in the trees after a large clearing on the trail. The trail starts to gain elevation after passing it so knowing to turn back if you miss it shouldn't be hard to figure out. This is a great river hike for this time of year, go check it out even if you only want to walk a couple miles each way.