Started out Monday morning with Frank on the North Fork Sauk River Trail. There is a large, fresh blowdown about a quarter mile in. Not too difficult to duck under. We were both able to cross Red Creek without getting our feet wet.
The hill on this trail is quite a climb. I have made this climb probably 10 times now, but it was the first for Frank, and he felt it. I think all is forgotten once the trail brings you out of the trees and you find yourself angling up a steep meadowy hillside.
You can tell you've gotten somewhere once you connect with the PCT. We dropped our packs here and hiked up to Red Pass. The views on the way up to the Pass are excellent. Sloan Peak is very close as is the Monte Cristo Peaks. Soon you can see Rainier over Pilot Ridge.
Once at the pass there is Glacier Peak as close as anyone could hope for. You can see the PCT etched out on its way North down toward White Chuck River. This area was cut out perfectly by glaciers long ago. We took a lot of pictures.
On the way down from Red pass there is an area that looks like the top of the ridge is only 20 yards from the trail. It is and there is a better view of Glacier Peak from here. Be careful, because the hill side is very steep here.
The sun was setting on us by the time we reached our packs. This was great though. The views of Indian Head Peak above White Pass were excellent. Purple Mountains all around us. We set the tent up in the camping area at White Pass and by the time we were eating our dinner it was pitch dark.
We awoke the next morning to find that Frank's pack had a hole in it right to a package of Ho Hos. Some critter smelt them out. We have a joke between us about this very event. When I hike overnight, I carry an air tight bucket that is square and only adds less than a pound. My favorite part of the bucket is that it doubles as a chair when no rocks are around. I asked Frank, jokingly, if the critter had chewed through my bucket. It of course hadn't.
We took our time on the way out. Frank had pulled his groin. We had planned to hike the Pilot Ridge Lopp, but that was OK. We were both satisfied with Red Pass. On the way out, halfway between Red Creek and the Pilot Ridge Trail junction, we heard a gunshot. We both swear it had to have been a gunshot. It came from the river side of the trail.
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