Glacier Wilderness hike 8/14-17, 2017
From August 14th to 17th we made a loop around Red and Black mountains and Portal and Skullcap peaks using trails 649 (North Fork of the Sauk Trail), PCT and 646.01 (Lost Creek Ridge Trail). Our overall impression of the trip was that it is a very spectacular place but we didn’t get to experience it as well as it deserved. The trails spent too much time down in the trees for us to learn the topography as well as we would have liked. And, some of the time while we were up high, it was cloudy, which hid the peaks. However, the trees were enormous and spectacular with a lot of species diversity and the clouds were equally spectacular and we witnessed two gorgeous sunsets and sunrises. The hills are long and steep and the trails gain and lose elevation as if you are OK with that. There are not very many established campsites, so it can be hard to find a flat spot where you won’t damage plants. Trail maintenance is lacking in many places. Water availability was good.
We started up trail 649 at the North Fork of the Sauk trailhead at 11:45 on the 14th and made quick progress up the well-groomed trail through the massive Douglas firs and Western hemlocks reaching the Mackinaw shelter by 2:30. Because it was early, we undertook the 26 switch backs up 3000 feet to the PCT. The heavenly breeze felt like it was coming off a snow field. Still, we sweated buckets. We made camp just before Red Pass, around 7, and watched a sunset of pink and gold behind Sloan Peak followed by pink vapors drifting down to fill the valleys. The stars and then a half moon lit up the valleys of white clouds below and peaks above.
On Tuesday we hiked over Red Pass and along the PCT surrounded by awesome peaks and meadows of wild flowers to the warning shrieks of hoary marmots. All too soon the PCT enters the trees and we were deprived of Glacier Peak views.
We intended to take White Chuck Trail 643.1 to Kennedy Hot Springs. We came to a trail junction for Trail 643 which had a temporary sign over it saying that Trail 643 was abandoned and that there was a new and improved trail in 7/10 of a mile. In addition, there was a sign 50 feet down Trail 643 which also said 643 was abandoned and there was a better trail 1/4 mile past Sitkum Creek. We walked on and came to the presumed Sitkum Creek and went beyond for what seemed like a quarter of a mile and found no trail. Did we both experience temporary blindness when we came to the new trail or was the trail junction buried beneath fallen trees? We don’t know. We didn’t go back to look for it since there was an alternate, although longer route. We continued on the PCT intending to take Trail 639, the Kennedy Ridge Trail. The PCT in this area is not well-maintained; a lot of blow-down, some of it huge, but passable. The trail makes its way down a long hill to Kennedy Creek. The bridge over the creek is broken, but still works. The trail starts up the other side of the creek and after a half mile or so the junction for PCT and the Kennedy Ridge Trail was right where the map said it should be. The Kennedy Ridge Trail looks like it hasn’t been maintained since it was created. But you can still follow it. It leads down to the confluence of brown Kennedy Creek and bluish white White Chuck River. In the area around the river there aren’t really trails, but there are blue plastic ribbons tied to various things and some cairns which tell you which way to go. That evening, as it was getting dark, we scouted out the creek and river crossings and what looked like the beginning of the Lost Creek Trail. We camped on the flood plain and enjoyed another fabulous night sky. In the morning, we did not leave camp until 10, which was a mistake. Crossing the creek and river were both easy enough on large logs. The beginning of the trail 646.01, Lost Creek Ridge Trail, was marked with a pink ribbon and cairns. We went a short distance up the trail and it went into a large bog. We got through and around that but had no idea where the trail went. There were some scuff marks on the ground which looked like other hikers had been this way so we followed them up the now extremely steep hill. The scuff marks we started following soon disappeared and we debated going back down and trying to find the trail. In hindsight, I think we should have done that. But we were reluctant to give up the elevation we had gained and continued to claw and scratch our way up the cliff for 2 hours. Then, as soon as the slope moderated slightly, the trail reappeared out from under a fallen tree and continued up quite steeply, with another fallen tree or two every few feet. The trail finally got up to where the trees thinned out and the peaks reappeared but it stayed quite steep to Lake Byrne. Byrne is spectacular, but we didn’t stay long because so much time had passed getting there and it was raining lightly. Camp Lake was smaller, but beautiful. Clear water below sheer cliffs. That night we found a spot to camp on a flat promontory just west of Hardtack Lake. The middle and top of Glacier peak was covered by clouds and the sunset made for a color show.
In the morning the valleys were filled with white clouds as the sun rose behind Glacier’s peak. As the sun warmed the early morning clouds we were enveloped in fog. Consequently we missed the views of the peaks; the trees and clouds were the view. The ridge trail has a lot of ups and downs and a fair amount of blow down. We reached Sunup Lake by 11 and had lunch. Round Lake by 2 and then down 3000 feet of switch backs to reach the Lost Creek Trailhead by 4:15, then walked back up to the North Fork Sauk Trailhead where we were parked. We lost our red knife at the Lost Creek Trail head. How appropriate is that!
When we got down to the trailhead we talked to an old-timer who told us that the trail from Kennedy hot springs has not existed since the 1980’s. There is some truth to that but people are still going that way because we saw their footprints. I just hope they are doing it better than we did it.
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