Gary and John joined me for a loop backpacking trip just south of Glacier Peak. We went up the Pilot Ridge trail, over the Blue Lake High Route to the PCT, and up to White Pass on the first two days. On day three we did a day hike loop on the Foam Basin trail, over the ridges to the Whitechuck Moraine, cross country to the PCT up to Red Pass, up Portal Peak, and back to White Pass. On the fourth day we summited White Mountain and hiked back on the NF Sauk trail. A fun four days covering 45 miles with 12,200' of elevation gain. I have posted a four page report with many photos on my website at: http://www.hikingnorthwest.com. Go to "Trips - 2012" on the left margin. There is a link beneath the photos for the next day. As of this writing not all the photos are up but they will be soon.

This report is tragically late as it is now nearing the end of October. Still, I wanted to post it to let hikers know that, despite of rumors of the Pilot Ridge Trail being abandoned, it is still very hikeable and highly recommended (by me!). The trail begins in the phenomenal forests of the North Fork Sauk River Valley, passing giant Western Red Cedars, Douglas Firs, And Western Hemlock. There are few low elevation old growth valleys like this one. At mile 1.9 pass the Pilot Ridge Trail junction. You will return to this junction at the end of your wonderful trip and then back to the trailhead. At 5 miles, pass a good campsite with toilet at Red Creek and then at 6 miles, reach the gloomy and damp Mackinaw Shelter and the last dependable water before White Pass. Switchback steeply upward for another 2.8 miles through open avalanche tracks and meadows to the junction with the Pacific Crest Trail, turning right (east) on the PCT and hiking another short mile to White Pass and good camps below the pass. Turn right where the sign directs you down to the lower pass area and camps. Please respect the "Camp Elsewhere" signs and do not camp on the ridge above the camp area near the PCT. The Forest Service (Darrington Ranger District) has spent decades working at restoring the delicate vegetation there, that at one time was badly impacted from over use. The side trail down to the campsites from the ridge top is in dire need of repair or relocation. The trail is double and triple tracked with the currently used track being an eroded knee deep gully. It's heartbreaking to see such a special place being so neglected. But not to blame the Forest Service, as congress has starved them of much needed funds during the last few decades. As of this writing the mountain toilet at White Pass camps is badly in need of repair. The Forest Service is currently working on a grant to allow repair or replacement of that toilet and some of the trail signs along this entire loop hike. If you have the time, use White Pass as a base camp and take a side trip or two. The trail from White Pass, along the base of White Mountain and out to the Foam Creek Basin is absolutely beautiful! Incredible meadows and flower shows, in season. When the trail seems to disappear, hike up to the top of a knoll and gaze out to breathtaking views in all directions. Glacier Peak dominates the scene but Mt Baker, Sloan Peak, Pugh, White Chuck and dozens of other peaks are visible. Look down from there into the upper White Chuck basin to a land of snow, rock and ice. Another highly recommended side trip from White Pass is a hike back west along the PCT to Red Pass and up Portal Peak. It's a fairly easy climb along the ridge to the summit. I only had to use my hands for balance one time before reaching the top. More incredible views from there! Back down at Red Pass, you can hike down into the Glacier Peak Meadows area, hiking north on the PCT and climb to the top of the White Chuck Cinder Cone. It is a very interesting volcanic wasteland up there. Another choice from back at Red Pass is to hike the ridge and way trail from there to the summit of White Mountain. It is a very exhilarating hike. You pretty much feel as though you're on top of the world. From the summit of White Mountain, descend a way trail of steep, flowery slopes back down directly to White Pass and a return to camp. To continue the loop from White Pass, head south on the PCT over miles and miles of mind boggling ridges, meadows and flower fields to the trail junction at Dishpan Gap. There is a great campsite there, albeit right on the trail. Then hike west on the Bald Eagle Trail .8 of a mile, bearing left on the Blue Lakes High Route (alternately you can hike another 2 miles west on the Bald Eagle Trail to trail 652 to access Blue Lakes). Ascend a steep but solid trail to a high pass with a beautiful view across to Johnson Mountain and down to a sometimes frozen Blue lake in therocky basin below. The trail from this high pass down to the lake can contain a vsry steep snow slope in early season that may require you to bypass over steep meadow grass and heather on the right. Blue lake is spectacular! and a wonderful place to camp. There are a few good sites but one in particular is very sweet, just below the lake outlet and above the falls. It was sad to see that people were building fires at the camps near the lakes, charring the ends of huge logs that will be visible for years to come. I feel that fires in these high elevation sites should be avoided. There is a good, solid and well located mountain toilet near the campsites. To continue onto the Pilot Ridge Trail, hike a trail northeast from the lake outlet that descends to the Pilot Ridge Trail junction. Keep right at the junction, ascending through talus and scree for a bit an then on to the huge meadows that traverse the slopes of Jonson Mountain, eventually turning back to the east and following the west ridge of the mountain to Johnson Mountain Trail junction. Some careless person had recently built a fire right in the meadow grass, along the trail, burning an ugly hole and charring rocks that will now take decades to heal. Please resist the urge to have a campfire in these high, delicate meadows. The short 1/2 mile side trip to the summit of Johnson Mountain is mandatory! Spectacular meadows, flowers and territorial views from the top. Check out the old lookout site and the four stone pillars that used to support the lookout. What a perch, looking strait across to the Monte Cristo Range! Back at the junction, continue north and west on the Pilot Ridge Trail through huge sloping meadows that seem to go on forever. The trail tread across these meadows hasn't had much maintenance in past years, the width of the trail narrowing down to 6" or less in places, but is still easy to follow. Eventually the trail finds it's way down to the forest but then heads back up (ugh!) and down, and up, and down finally and switchbacks relentlessly for 3.5 miles down to the North Fork Sauk river. I counted about 20 blowdowns on this last trail section, but all were easy to either step over or go around. I reported the blowdowns to the Forest Service but the trail didn't look to have had any maintenance in quite a few years, which is a shame considering the absolute beauty of this trail. Harvey Manning said the Pilot is "some of the finest ridge walking in the North Cascades", and I agree! The trail reaches the valley floor where you're able to cross the North Fork Sauk River on your choice of several stout logs. Reaching the N.F. Sauk trail again, turn left, reaching the trailhead in 1.9 miles of glorious forest walking.

Started out on the North Fork Sauk River trail intending to camp two nights at White Pass. Decided instead to camp at Mackinaw Shelter, about 6 miles into the hike. Second day made the long slog up to White Pass--about 3000 feet in 3.5 miles. The hike from Mackinaw to White Pass was exhausting and is almost entirely exposed to the hot sun. But the view from the top is well worth it. Dropped pack and set up the tent at White Pass, then continued up to Red Pass and down toward Glacier Meadows for a spectacular view of Glacier Peak. Camped the second night at White Pass. Some notes about the trip: saw a young black bear within the first mile of the hike. Saw at least a half dozen marmots near White Pass, especially in the early morning on the final day. One was very curious and came quite close to check me out! Also saw a porcupine at night up at White Pass nosing around the toilet area. Came home with about two dozen bug bites--the black flies and mosquitos were pretty bad, though usually left me alone while moving. Be sure to bring plenty of bug dope! The highlight of the journey was traversing the PCT from White Pass to Red Pass then into Glacier Meadows. So many views--highly recommend! Be sure to get an early start if you are planning to hike to White Pass in one day; the climb from Mackinaw Shelter is long and hot.

Writing as I recover from an overnight trip from the North Fork Sauk to White Pass and back. I would like to note that the North Fork Sauk trail had tons of blowdowns, but they had all been cleared, thanks to the hard work of the USFS and volunteers. Generally speaking, the trail was in good shape at all points. The first water crossing, about a mile in, was the longest, and was pretty easy. Good conditions aside, the North Fork Sauk trail gets pretty monotonous. After a few miles of steady ascent through humid forest, the trail starts to become a slog. The first campsites lie about four miles in, just before a pretty bridge crossing at Red Creek. The Mackinaw Shelter campsites, by comparison, are less nice. The shelter itself looks dismal and unsafe. This section is overrun by flies, but the location is good for filtering water, which we did. We steadily climbed after Mackinaw, dealing with a very hot day on a very exposed south face. Climbing through this section requires navigating through 26 switchbacks (the topographical map at Summitpost [for Glacier] is accurate here) which are almost entirely exposed. We took many stops to contend with scorching temperatures that did not improve until we were a little ways along the ridge trail at the top. This section was brutally hot and pretty demoralizing, but we found that keeping track of landmarks helped us along here. The section between switchback 16 and 17 was the longest, and also had a fair amount of water on the trail. This is the last water until the ridge trail, something to keep in mind if not filling up at Mackinaw. The last significant canopy lies between switchback 21 and 22, and, recognizing the tree line, we took full advantage of the shade here before continuing our climb. Once at the ridge, the trail eases and the views in the alpine area are truly beautiful. This part - before and after meeting the Pacific Crest Trail - is entirely worth it, even if the lower trail might not be. We pitched camp near White Pass (after miles of minimal signage, these sites are fairly well marked), which was mostly occupied by mountaineers. We were able to find a semi-private spot with a sunset view. The pit toilet here was vile, but I was fortunately able to use the much less used toilet near Mackinaw Shelter. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset, sunrise, and meteor showers in between. Wish we could have stayed longer. Ten hours up, six hours down. If I could change anything, I would headed up the trail earlier.

After hiking the Red mtn. lookout site, we turned toward the E and hiked along the Sauk river. This is a quiet and beautiful walk in the woods. Large old growth trees lined the trail, sun filtered down through and cast shadows on the rocks. We could hear the river but not see it for the first mile or so. We hiked as far as the trail junction with the Pilot Ridge trail then ate lunch and turned around. The parking lot was full, but we saw only 2 other people dayhiking. With no mtn. views and all the moss, this would be a great hike for a rainy day!