Did an afternoon hike with adults and teenagers, no one at the trailhead parking at 3:30pm. Trail is dry, dusty/silty in a lot of places, more near the bottom though. There are more forks than the WTA trail description has. We went left at the first, lower fork, left again at the next fork, and then right at the 3rd fork (the left path there was really just to a viewpoint overlooking Peshastin and the valley.) But the views along this route were great.' Then we proceeded on and came to the "1/2 Mile" post. We had walked much more than half a mile, but thought the grade was very manageable.  From there you proceed on to the summit, without any varying forks in the trail. The view from the top is excellent, if you go the extra 300 yards higher the view is more blocked by trees. Coming down when we hit the "1/2 Mile post" we veered left instead of right (the way we came) to go downhill. This path was much steeper, also more angled in places, and had more slippier areas due to the fine silt/sand, but was much faster. We were going about average pace I would say, stopped for quite a few views/water, and were about 2 hours up, about 50 minutes down the steeper, shorter route. But it was a fun, quick but still fairly challenging hike, right outside of Leavenworth.

A great hike with great views.  The trail is bone-dry, which makes for fast movement on the ridge line.  But there are several sections that are simply loose dirt over packed clay on a sloped trail above a steep slope, so more care is required on the initial switchbacks (especially on the right fork) and the last quarter-mile up to the summit.  A hiking stick or poles make this a lot more enjoyable.

Wildlife: a photo-shy marmot near the trailhead on the descent.

BLACK BEAR SIGHTING.
I was standing on the trail quietly, hoping the get a picture of the marmots I heard barking. Instead a black bear appeared. He wasn’t aggressive and once he finally noticed me, he ran off. This was by the start of the trail.
Other than that, the trail was great. Lots of wildlife haha.

This hike is right at the top of my all time favorite spring hikes! So many flowers and nice views also. From the very beginning all the way to the top it is never boring. The limited parking keeps this one from being overrun, we left Everett at 6 AM and got there at 830 and we were the 4th car in the lot. The trail itself is brushy at the bottom and there are parts that are rough and uneven. There is sand on top of packed clay, which made the steep descent slippery and we had to be careful not to fall, but we're old. The younger hikers we saw had no problems with any of the trail. The balsamroot is beginning to go to seed on the first mile of the trail, but the upper 2 miles had meadows of yellow. Lupines are in full bloom, phlox is blooming, paintbrush is starting and many more small treasures to see. Lots of butterflies were enjoying the nectar too. Be sure to take a short walk past the sign at the top for more views and a beautiful clump of lavender penstemon.  Our exciting wildlife siting was a pair of golden eagles circling overhead! I wasn't 100% sure until I got back to the car and double checked my bird book, because they are not often seen but this is part of their range.  Loo was clean and stocked. Thank you to the Sauer family for the use of this beautiful trail!  6 miles, 2100 gain, reminded me that I just had a birthday! 

It's been five days since the last trip report for Sauer's Mountain so I decided I'd better get cracking. I reached the trailhead right at 8am and got the third from last empty parking space. As I was putting on my pack the last two spaces were taken as well. The weather was slightly overcast and mild, with temps around the low 50s or so. The trail is quite dry and dusty, and there are several sections where it's a bit slippery and/or precarious with a narrow trail on a steep hillside. Also, near the summit you have to cross a forest road and scramble up the hillside a little, making it a little hard for small kids and dogs. The rest of the trail though is a cakewalk.

Even though there technically weren't that many people on the trail I couldn't avoid following or being followed by fairly loud-speaking fellow hikers. It was like that both going up and coming down, so I never got much in the way of solitude. What I did get though was lots of flower pictures. The Basalmroot is mostly spent on the lower part of the trail, but from the ridge all the way to the summit most of the show is still ongoing, if well past its peak. The Lupine is now at peak, as are numerous little white and yellow flowers I can't identify. Also the Indian Paintbrush is coming out, so the result was a colorful mosaic in places. If you're a wildflower junkie you've got perhaps a few more days before the Basalmroot is completely done and it becomes mostly a Lupine/Paintbush show.

It took me 1 1/2 hours to reach the top, partially because I kept stopping to take pictures. It was a bit breezy there, and there were lots of people hanging around the Sauer's Mtn sign so I continued on a little ways and found a spot looking north where I could see Glacier Peak while resting and having a snack break. I shared that spot with a few other hikers and even a motorcyclist. Going back down took just over one hour. By then not only were the designated parking spaces still full but I could see a half dozen vehicles parked just beyond the No Parking signs, and more hikers were walking up the road from places further down where they'd parked. Please folks, if you're unable to snag a spot in the designated parking area then try another hike nearby instead, perhaps Icicle Ridge or Cashmere Preserve. If this keeps happening someone is going to complain loud enough to get this trailhead closed down.