Pear Lake via Meadow Creek, Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Section K - Stevens Pass to Rainy Pass & North Fork Sauk River — Monday, Aug. 14, 2023

Itinerary: Meadow Creek TH to Pear Lake, north along PCT to White Pass, exiting via North Fork Sauk River trail.

CHECK CURRENT WILDFIRE CONDITIONS BEFORE TRAVELING IN THIS AREA. I recommend this website: https://www.fireweatheravalanche.org/fire/state/washington

Overall impression: PCT from Pear Lake to White Pass is a relatively quiet trail with jaw-dropping views (some of the best I’ve ever seen), little water currently, and very crowded camping areas unless you stop at random dry campsites along the trail.

Day 1: Meadow Creek TH to Pear Lake

I decided to take this shorter route to Pear Lake rather than starting from the Smithbrook TH in order to avoid the long miles without water and the climb up underwhelming Grizzly Peak. Meadow Creek Trail is a gently graded, well-maintained trail through shaded forest, which was much appreciated on this hot day, and I saw absolutely no one until arriving at Fortune Ponds. There are multiple flowing streams along the trail. I had considered camping at Fortune Ponds, but the ponds turned out to be pretty murky and small, not ideal for filtering water and swimming. There was a group of three folks camping there who had camped the night before at Pear Lake, and they recommended I carry on. It’s a bit of a climb over the ridge, but once you crest and Pear Lake comes into view, it all feels worth it. At every turn of the switchbacks heading down there’s a new beautiful view of the lake and mountain range beyond. I arrived around 3:00pm to a completely empty camping area on the northwest side of the lake and took a swim; only one other couple ended up there that day. Campsites here are numerous and far apart, which is different than the one large camping area on the east side near the PCT. The following day I met people who didn’t realize this and suffered through the late-night conversation of a group of PCT hikers who kept them awake. I highly recommend wandering over to the east side of the lake at sunset.

Day 2: Pear Lake to Lake Sally Ann

As the weather grew even hotter, I ventured onto the PCT going north and was immediately greeted with incredible views from the trail along the ridge. Eventually it dips down into forest and then back up on exposed ridges, making for a sweaty hike with few water sources - there were only two, a small creek about four miles from Pear Lake, then much larger Pass Creek a couple miles further. This is a great spot for soaking your feet and lunching, except for the aggressive biting flies. As much as I hate using it, Deet kept them away. Fill up all your containers of water here because there’s nothing else until Lake Sally Ann, another four miles or so of hot exposed climbing. Just when you’ve given up on there actually being a lake on this ridge, Lake Sally Ann appears like a mirage and if you’re also there on a hot day, you’ll want to throw down your pack and jump in. I recommend first grabbing a site, because this is a popular camp spot. The most well-established sites are in the trees on the north side of the lake, and there are others scattered to the right of the trail as it passes the lake. You can access shallow water right near where the PCT passes, or take a trail around to the far side of the lake where there are nice rocks for sitting and accessing deeper water. By nightfall all the campsites were filled up, to the point that I could hear the heavy breathing of a nearby camper. Lake Sally Ann is a gorgeous spot along the PCT, but not a place to camp if your top priority is solitude.

As the hours passed, a group of us watched with increasing concern as the Airplane Lake fire seemed to grow - it billowed darker and higher, but always seemed to blow east away from the PCT. Those of us with Garmins had the ability to check in with civilization and learn that while there were no warnings or closures for the Airplane Lake fire, another fire had started near Rainy Pass that was closing the PCT north of Stehekin. Although several hikers were concerned about making it to the border and/or heading toward the billowing smoke just ahead, everyone decided to carry on.

Day 3: Lake Sally Ann to White Pass

This was another long hot day of exposed hiking, with few places to collect water. Nonetheless I decided to stop at the base of Kodak Peak, stash my backpack and make the short climb to the peak. The PCT crosses the base of Kodak Peak, then turns sharply on its east side - this is where there’s a lovely shaded campsite. If you need water, as of 8/16 there was a trickle crossing the trail about 5 minutes further hiking northbound. It took about 10 minutes to get to the top of Kodak Peak and it was a gorgeous 360 degree view that included more of Glacier Peak than I saw on the entirety of my trip, including at White Pass. The trail is steep but never felt unsafe. The only disconcerting thing about the peak is large clusters of insects nesting on the tips of the stunted trees. They might have been biting flies, but I didn’t get many bites up there. It’s easy to avoid the nesting trees if you notice them before you’re upon them.

The camping at White Pass is down a short, steep trail. Right now it’s dusty and dry there, with just a trickle of water going through the camp - go right at the bottom of the trail down to find it. It’s liable to run through the season, but with the short trickles it’s difficult to collect water and impossible to bathe. If you’re hiking to White Pass from the north, I recommend collecting water at the first of three trickles you’ll pass after passing the North Fork Sauk junction (it’s got a nice long flow making it easier to collect) before getting to camp. If you’re arriving from the south, one option is to head out the Foam Creek trail for just a few minutes and you’ll come along a stronger flow than the one at White Pass Camp. The views from White Pass Camp are incredible, the camping not so much if you like solitude. My second night there folks were crowding in, setting up tents on the sensitive grassy area rather than in the established sites under the trees close to the ridge. Also, there IS a backcountry toilet there, just follow the signs and you’ll find it among a grove of trees.

Day 4: White Pass day hikes

As recommended by a few different hiking books, I decided to stay two nights at White Pass and do some wandering. Hiking north on the PCT from White Pass to Red Pass in the early morning was a spiritual experience - the solitude, the growing soft light as it hits the Monte Cristo range and beyond, more distant mountain ranges slowly unfolding as you climb gently toward Red Pass. Marmots whistling, munching on blueberries, lounging on warming rocks. Just wow. At Red Pass I climbed the short hill to the right opposite Portal Peak (which I found to be too sketchy to climb up but maybe I didn’t find the right trail) and stayed there for at least an hour, watching as hikers came and went along the PCT, took photos, snacked, and just soaked up the view of Glacier Peak (partly blocked by its “foothills”), the Monte Cristo Range beyond Pilot Ridge, and everything else in the nearly 360 degree view. In the evening I trekked out the Foam Creek trail, hoping to get to the point where there’s an unobstructed view of Glacier Peak, again recommended by a hiking book. But after an hour of hiking the trail turned increasingly sketchy, and being alone and near my turnaround time, I decided not to continue. I still highly recommend this quiet trail at sunset, with more open views of what seems to be all the mountain ranges in WA. Add to that the glowing red smoke of the Airplane Lake fire (I actually saw a few flames and was happy to be leaving the next day), abundant blueberries not grazed sparse by hikers, startled ptarmigans, prancing marmots literally posing for their portraits, the hairs of the Dr. Suess-like flowers Anemone Occidentalis glowing orange, and you’ve got yourself another spiritual experience. Just be sure to bring your headlamp with you in case all this distraction delays your return!

Day 5: White Pass to North Fork Sauk River trailhead

Woke up this morning to a strong wind - I heard it’s often present on the White Pass Camp ridge - and my face and sleeping bag covered in dust despite sleeping under a tent and fly! As the fires in Glacier Peak Wilderness grew, closing parts of the PCT further north, the more anxious hikers became increasingly concerned. I ended up taking one hiker out with me, giving her a ride from the North Fork Sauk River trailhead and even a bed in my home near Seattle. Although I enjoy my solitude, I highly recommend such “trail angel” acts (as she kept calling it). I got to know a fellow solo woman hiker and a lovely person from Montreal who I hope to hike with again someday! The NFSR trail is nicely graded, so although it loses a lot of elevation it’s not too hard on those with older knees. The second half is nearly flat and entirely along the river in the forest.