Cascade Pass,Sahale Arm

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.