This one definitely makes the Washington dayhike top 5 list. The first 3 miles are on a well maintained trail through Mountain Hemlock. This section should have been designed a little steeper but it's pleasant none the less. There are 2 small, moderately steep snow fields to cross just before the pass at 3.8 miles. The view from the pass is very nice but you shouldn't miss the superior views from atop Sahale Arm. From the pass the trail switch backs up steeply about 1 mi to the top of the ridge. The last mile is an easy meander through wonderful highland meadows. Bugs were moderate on the first 3 miles, mild at the pass, and minimal on top of Sahale Arm. Flowers are only scattered now. There are a few small snow patches on Sahale Arm, but the trail is generally snow free.

I arrived at the parking lot 11:30pm on 8/26 and slept next to my car under Mt.Johannesburg and a glorious full moon. There were about 15 vehicles in the lot. I started at 7:47am on 8/27 from the Cascade Pass trailhead. Even with such an early start I was the 7th person to hit the trail that morning. The trail to the arm crosses some snow on the long stretch past the switchbacks, just before the pass. There's no need for an ice ax here - just use the established footsteps. The bugs are at their worst at the pass - you literally cannot stand still for a second before you're covered with a variety of biting insects. Arrive before 9am to avoid most of them, but don't expect much of a view to the east - you'll be looking into the sun. Higher up, on the Sahale Arm, the bugs thin out and the wildflowers call for attention. Patches of white and pink are everywhere, accentuated by small waterfalls here and there. I saw two bucks, one brown and one cream-colored sitting side-by-side with Forbidden Peak in the background - excellent photo, can't wait to see it. Doubtful Lake is mostly melted out. Only one site was occupied at Sahale Camp when I arrived and they were packing up. On the way back however, I passed at least 6 groups planning to spend Friday night at the camp. The first arrived at about 4:00pm. The Sahale Glacier is tricky - about 2"" of loose slushy snow barely provides enough traction on the rock-hard ice of glacier. I definitely needed my ice ax and doubt it was sharp enough to stop an all-out free-fall. There is some minor crevassing that can easily be avoided. The summit of Sahale is difficult to reach without ropes but I managed. I headed to the south ridge and after a lot of scrambling and and some genuine technical free-climbing I got to the top. There's barely enough room at the top for 3 people and steep drops off every side if you lose your balance. A benchmark embedded in the rock lists the elevation as 8,484', about 4.5 hours and 4,884' above the parking lot. The views are spectacular in every direction but I was especially fascinated by the view to the south towards Glacier Peak - it's a shame that there are no high-elevation trails in the vicinity of Spire Point and Dome Peak. How is it that this area was not included in the National Park' Thankfully it has wilderness protection, and I'm headed there next. Total trip time was about 10 hours, allowing for several stops.

Cascade Pass: On Highway 20 from Marblemount take Cascade River Road by crossing a big bridge at the curve in the highway. Drive to the trail head at the end of the road. Trail is in good shape. Three small snow fields to cross before the pass. Ice axe was helpful but not mandatory. Only one camp snow free at the Pelton Basin Camp. Small biting flies were abundant. Three deer there think they are chipmunks and eat, chew everything they can find with salt on, including metal ice axes & packs. They don't shoo away for over 5 minutes. You might as well get used to them. Sahale trail is snow free and the marmots don't even seem to notice people 2 feet from them. The large biting flies are tenacious until 1/4 mile below the glacier. Must have ice axe and ice walkers would be very helpful to get above the glacier. Views were absolutely stunning. Glacier Peak looks like Rainier from here. There was plenty of water all of the way up. This trail was very busy even on a week day. But people were very congenial. Register for camping at Ranger Station at west end of town. Turn north for 1 mile to station. There are no bear wires and trees aren't very well-limbed. Bring a long rope to hang food at Pelton. There are no trees at the Sahale Glacier camp site.

The trail up to Cascades Pass is in pretty good shape as you would expect for a well-funded NPS trail. There are still quite a few mud-holes that could be fixed, but the trail is largely hazard-free. There's still some snow fields to be crossed before reaching the pass, but the steps are well established. I would only bother with an ice-axe early in the day when the snow is hard. At this point an ankle-twisting break through the snow into the rocks beneath is the greater hazard. Someone left behind the neatest little tripod at the pass. If it's yours let me know. I'm not going to give it back. I just want to say thanks and find out where you got it. I tested out one of the solar composting toilets. It looks like they could you more sun and less compost. The route up to the Sahale Arm still has a few snow patches where I felt more comfortable with my ice axe deployed. Once up upon the arm itself, there was no significant snow until you reach the glacier. I climbed most the way up to below the glacier before turning around at a point where I had a choice of steep, thin snow or loose rock. On my way back down I rock hopped off the trail to an outcropping with an nice view to the west. As soon as I unpacked my food, a fat marmot came racing toward me. I didn't know marmots could move that fast! Soon there were marmots to the left of me, marmots to the right of me, marmots directly ahead of me, pawing at my pack and sniffing my boots. I grabbed my gear and executed a tactical withdrawal from Marmot Hill. I moved to an un-contested hill nearby and finished my lunch in peace. I stopped on the way back to look down at Doubtful Lake. The lake is mostly melted out, but there are still steep, deeply crevassed snow banks around the shoreline. The snow banks are caving in places. As I pulled out my camera to take a picture I dropped my remote. When I bent over to pick it up I heard a rip and felt the cool breeze pass through the furry forests of my own little crevasse. ""Opps!"", I thought. ""No fancy sit-down restaurant for me tonight. I'll have to stick with a drive-through."" I hitched up my shorts and hiked the rest of the way down with my cheeks tightly clenched together so as not to offend. A short distance below Cascade Pass I heard a crash in the woods beneath the trail and moved to the edge to peer down the steep slopes just in time to see a cinnamon bear push its way through the brush into a clump of trees. With its shaggy, light-brown fur, I can see how people who have seen a few National Geographic episodes could mistake one of these bears for a grizzly, but I could see between its shoulder blades clearly and the hump characteristic of grizzlies was absent.

Arrived at Marblemount Ranger Station at 8:30 AM and got the last permit for Sahale Arm. Boston Basin permits were already gone. The Cascade River Road is in great shape. There is a lot of snow at the trailhead, and the trail can be hard to follow, but after five minutes the snow disappears and the trail is visible. There are a few minor blowdowns. Snow starts again at the top of the switchbacks and is almost continuous to Cascade Pass. The first few steps of the Sahale Arm trail have melted out, then there is solid snow until the ridge is gained. The meadows are beautiful, with small snow patches surrounded by green grass and scurrying marmots. Only one crack was spotted on the glacier. There's a boot track ot the summit. Got fogged out, rained on, and hailed on Saturday night. Sunday morning was sunny and hot. The view from camp dramatically illustrated the west-side / east-side weather patterns of the Cascades: the west side of Cascade Pass was socked in with low clouds all day Saturady and most of Sunday; the east side of the pass was cloud free Saturday night and all day Sunday.