North Fork Sauk River — Saturday, Jun. 29, 2013

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

It was a good time to explore the North Fork Sauk River. The old growth is amazing, and the downed trees that have been cut to create trail portals are among the largest in the region. I hiked to Macinaw Shelter Friday night and stayed the night. This morning I hiked part of the way to White Pass. If you hike this area in the early morning, wear rain pants because the meadows are extremely brushy and wet. A wildflower show begins at 3,000 feet and is quite good. Both Red Creek and the River were running full. There was so much water in the river this morning that there was mist (not fog) a good 30 feet above the water. I met nearly two dozen hikers packing in this morning when I was packing out. They were all headed for the glaciers. The roads to the TH are in clear and in good condition. The trail is clear, but there are muddy areas and several stretches with water. Surprisingly there were no problems with bugs. This stretch of very hot weather should make the river very interesting.