After moving to Bellingham two years ago, I finally got around to doing this classic hike. Although a longer drive than the alluring SR 542 trailheads, it was well worth the effort. All the superlatives written about the Sahale Arm are true…this is one beautiful trail. The section from the Doubtful Lake junction to the base of the moraine is just spectacular, and for me the best part of the hike. The tread through the moraine is a pain, but the payoff is a great view of the seemingly endless mountains to the south. One reason I’ve avoided this trail is its’ popularity…by the end of the day I had encountered about 35 people, and that’s no where near prime time. By starting at 7:00 AM, I hiked to the pass and part way up the Arm before seeing the first biped. About a dozen backpackers/climbers had spent the night at the Sahale Glacier Camp, and by the time I reached it, the last two had completed the climb and were packing up. For the next 90 minutes I was the Lord of Sahale…also Lord of the Deer Flies. On the way down, I saw at least 13 backpackers headed up to the camp…that would seem a bit crowded . Although seeing the sunset from up there would be great, I was happy to enjoy the hike down and head home for a beer. Notes: the Cascade River Road is long, but not too bad…some washboard sections…fewer potholes than I expected. Hiking time—4 hrs to the glacier, about the same time down with all the stops to take in the view…Great marmot and pika sightings…Signs of goats around the camp, but I couldn’t spot any on the slopes…Black flies moderate in the forest…No problem finding water.

Beautiful fall colors the whole drive in. The roads look quite different this late in the season. The Cascade River Road is gated at milepost 21 (right where the pavement starts again). Started at about 9am, the two mile road walk was a lot more rewarding than I expected.

Small snow patches begin two switchbacks before the trail turns towards the pass. There were intermittent shallow snow patches on the way to the pass. The trail grows consitently more snowy as you ascend the arm and I decided to turn around about half way up to the glacier. The snow patches cover about 60% of the Sahale Arm, and are really frustrating, because they are only 6 - 18 inches deep, so travel across them was difficult, and I don't think snow shoes would have really helped much.

Fabulous views out to the east, but I never caught sight of Eldorado or Forbidden the whole day.

I left home at 5:00 a.m. to allow time to summit Sahale Peak if conditions were good. The Marblemount forecast was for a clear day and a high of 70. When I left the trailhead at 8:21 a.m., the bushes were wet, but the trail was so well maintained that my gaiters remained dry.

My Green Trails map says that you gain 1800 feet in the 3.7 miles to Cascade Pass. But the trail was so nice that the miles just flew by. I arrived at the pass in 1 hour 35 minutes. I thought the map must be wrong. (But later in the day, I timed my descent from Cascade Pass at 1 hour 18 minutes. I guess I was really stoked in the morning!)

A strong NE wind was blowing clouds over the ridge tops, and not allowing the sun to shine on the peaks. I continued up the trail to Sahale Arm. Ascending the Arm, I met a pair of climbers coming down. The glacier and above were whited out, and they were unwilling to wait it out. I was glad I met them where I did, because they pointed out eight ptarmigans nestled into a snowdrift on the trail right in front of me. I was two steps from disturbing them.

The final thrust up to the basin of Sahale Glacier Camp was in fresh snow, about 2 inches except where drifts collected into 6 or 8 inches of depth. Still, the trail was easy enough to follow. The wind along this exposed stretch of the Arm was cold, but only mild to moderate in strength. It left me unprepared for what I encountered above. When I set foot on the ridge top at 11:55, I stood looking at the camps and the fog that blew through the whole basin. As I stood there, a gust of wind hit me at about 30-40 knots, nearly knocking me over. It sustained for about 20 seconds, then abated.

As I sat in a vacant camp spot eating my lunch, four climbers debated whether to wait out the fog. Eventually, they started up the glacier, and disappered from sight 100 yards away in the fog. During my stay in the basin, the winds gusted severely 3 or 4 more times, and even calmed for very brief periods. Very weird. After an hour and a half of waiting for the clouds to lift, and worrying about the gusty winds, I gave up and decided to head back down.

The fresh snow on upper Sahale Arm had turned to slippery slush. By the time I got down below the steep section, the summit of Sahale Peak was visible. By 2:20, there was barely a cloud in the sky. Finally the sun was shining, but it was late enough that the peaks to the south were partially shadowed already. I never did get good photographs of them.

Janice VanCleve’s September 6 report mentioned a huge bear down by Doubtful Lake. I encountered an adult black bear right on the trail at about the 6400’ level on Sahale Arm. I got photos from about 40 yards away. It eyed me suspiciously, then ambled away, still looking back at me. It had a healthy, shiny coat.

The rest of the hike was uneventful. The blueberry bushes had almost all turned red already, especially at higher altitudes. Berries were scarse. Even on the green bushes, almost all the berries that I found were overripe and rubbery. I kept trying anyway.

The Cascade Pass-Sahale Arm hike has got to be one of the 5 best hikes in Washington for views and the end of September should be the most stunning. Let's start with the terrain. The trail sashays up 35 lazy switchbacks to a wide open traverse. As you amble easily along to the pass you are presented with the massive panorama of Mt. Johannesburg, a jagged rock rampart carefully guarding its glaciers and snowfields. Loud avalanches thunder down its flanks almost constantly. Cascade Pass itself is a geologic hour glass. Huge mountains pinch in from either side while beautiful rounded glacial valleys extend out in front and behind. The pass is clothed in heather and stunted trees and always windy. There is a field toilet there and half benches on which hikers can revel in the beauty of the place. The only disappointment today was the thick smoky haze that cloaked the eastern view from the forest fires buring in that direction.

The 900 foot climb up Sahale Arm is steep and dusty but rewarded with a stunning view of Sahale mountain and Doubtful Lake in its lap. Campers who overnighted at the glacier reported a huge bear lapping up blueberries down by the lake. Up on the Arm, the blueberry leaves are just beginning to redden with the promise of a dazzling display of color in a few weeks. The trail is clear and well maintained all the way to and over the Arm. My companion, Jon, and I did not make the ascent to the glacier because I was running out of gas for lack of sleep the night before. We made good time, however. Parking lot to the pass in two hours with many photo stops, one hour to the top of the Arm, and 40 minutes to the base of Sahale mountain. We got down in 3 hours 40 minutes.

PS - Somebody lost a pair of eye glasses at the pass. Watch out for the speed trap in Concrete.