this is my new favorite loop. the colors right now are spectacular. if you get a few clear days to hike it... amazing. i hiked up to glacier peak basin and a little further via foam creek trail and scramble. there is a carcass about a 1/4 mile from pct at a stream bed... only birds picking at it... also, no water between blue lake and 4600ft down the pilot ridge switchbacks.

What a trip! Fall is officially here. First things first for those heading out soon: there is a lot more water on the trail now after all the precip we've had. Only dry sections are between Mackinaw Shelter and about a mile before White Pass, and Blue Lake to North Fork Sauk River. There's plenty between White Pass and Blue Lake right now. We camped out at the trailhead Friday night to get an early start Saturday morning and try to beat the crowds - of course the parking lot was already overflowing and about six more cars arrived before we got out of the tent in the morning. Ended up not getting on the trail until 9am. We hit Mackinaw Shelter at 11:30am and stopped for food and to filter water since there's not much in the way of it until you start approaching White Pass. We made it to White Pass about 3hrs later after leaving Mackinaw and quickly layered up and sat down with the map. Glacier Peak was completely hidden except for one of the lowest glaciers. We met a lot of folks turning back attempting their climb. Given the wind and the cold (and the looming scary clouds) we decided to push on to Indian Pass so we could camp 1000ft lower down. On the way we got caught in a hail storm but it didn't last too long. Fall colors are out in abundance! We got to Indian Pass around 5:30pm and set up camp - there is plenty of water here right now. We woke up to about an inch of snow outside the tent in the morning but it was melting quickly. Looking up at the ridge we were glad to have made the push to Indian Pass - lots of snow up there! After sleeping in and packing up we hit the trail at 11:30am. Soon ran into a Forest Service ranger taking down all the wildlife closure signs, which was great to hear that things are getting contained now! Climbing back up higher we entered a snowy and foggy world, but it was great to finally see so much moisture all around after this very dry summer. When we reached the junction with the Little Wenatchee River Trail (1525) we decided to side trip down to Meander Meadows. Had wanted to climb Kodak Peak but would have been just more socked in fog! Had lunch down at the Meadows and met a crew of 3 guys and their 6 llamas. After lunch we went back to the PCT and then turned off at Dishpan Gap towards Blue Lakes. Once we got to the junction for the low route/high route to Blue Lake we opted for lower - both because of the weather and because we thought we'd have more solitude camping at Little Blue Lake along the lower route. Arrived at Little Blue Lake around 5:30pm and set up camp for the night. Day three we left camp at 9:30am and climbed up the Pilot Ridge trail, keeping our fingers crossed for an opening in the clouds that never came. Beautiful all the same! The Pilot Ridge trail really does seem to go on forever, especially during all the ups and downs before the big descent - we kept thinking we were starting the descent only to climb up again several times. When you do hit the 2.5 mile drop, though, it will be an obvious set of never-ending switchbacks. We had to bushwhack a little to find the trail again after the log crossing at the North Fork Sauk River, but nothing too bad. My friend's knee brace was hurting after all that downhill so we took it slow on the way out and were back at the car by 5pm - we were one of four cars left so I think a lot of folks must have abandoned ship earlier in the weekend with the weather turning. All in all such a beautiful hike - can't wait to do it again when the skies are clearer!!

Started out from the North Sauk trailhead with my trusty canine running partner Gypsy at around 9am. The trail gently rises and falls thru fantastic old growth. These are some of the largest I have seen recently. Truly a magical place. The trail switchbacks up mostly along the edges of an avalanche track and eventually rises up above the tree line. Stunning views as the trail intersects the PCT. The vegetation is yellow accented by the red baked blueberries. There are still lots of berries but many are dried from the drought. The trail was generally in good condition. I can see how the high trail that drops into Blue Lake would be challenging for a backpacker but as a runner I had little trouble navigating its steep rise and descent. I found plenty of trickles of water to keep my bottles full and to satisfy my dog. Blue Lake was deserted and quiet. I stopped and cleaned out the accumulated dirt and rocks in my shoes while at the lake. The trails were seriously dusty! What a beautiful deep blue color! My legs were beginning to feel some fatigue and therefor was hoping Pilot Ridge was a gentle slope down but it is not. There are several climbs up and down as it undulates toward the switchbacks. There was one drop where I thought I had hit the switchbacks but was instead met with another steep climb up. Looking across at the opposite ridge I saw several areas of smoke and tall flames shooting upward! This is a fire I had not heard about and when I returned home found nothing on the web about it. Hopefully the coming rains will extinguish it. The drop into the North Sauk is a steep one with several large logs across the trail that could pose a challenge to a backpacker. As has been noted water is scares after leaving Blue Lake however I did find a few trickles to again keep my canine partner hydrated. When reaching the river it was a little confusing. There is a log that could be awkward to cross on directly at the base of the trail. There is a small piece of orange flagging on the other side of the river. The last 1.9 miles seemed to last forever on my tired legs. We finished the loop in 7hrs 15 min. And I was ready for a beer! One of the best loops I have run this summer!

A friend of mine and I did this as a two-night backpack and while it was doable, it was exhausting. This would be perfect as a three or four-nighter with some side trips from a base camp at White Pass or Dishpan Gap. We came back tired and very sore, but holy wow were the views (even with the smoke) and ridge walks worth it. The first day, we got started late after work and were only able to get 6 miles in before dark. We stayed at one of the established campsites around the Kamiak shelter. There is easy access to the Sauk River from here, so we filled up on water in the morning before walking up to White Pass. There are a few little trickles of streams on the way to White Pass and it's best to filter water at one if you need to because there aren't many other water sources between the pass and Blue Lake unless you want to filter from mosquito holes. The trail up to the pass is steep but in good condition and goes through abundant blueberry fields. The ridge walk across the pass is truly one of the most beautiful hikes I have ever had. We saw three marmots on the trail and many nice PCT hikers going as far north as they could before the fire closures. After crossing into the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness, great campsites are abundant along the trail. Dishpan Gap had plenty of beautiful spots and it wasn't crowded, we just met one other hiker and his dog there, but we decided to press on to Blue Lake. The hiking guide recommends the Blue Lakes High Route over the Bald Eagle Trail to get to the lake because it cuts mileage, but be aware that the high route is more of a scramble than a hike and the descent to the lake crosses a very steep scree field. If you're afraid of heights or concerned about your footing, take the alternate route on Bald Eagle. It adds four miles, but at least it is flat. The campsites around the lake were somewhat crowded (we counted seven other tents) but we found some solitude on a small plateau above the lake. It was perfect and when we woke up Sunday morning a family of grouse was pecking around our tent, totally nonplussed by our presence as we made breakfast. We left at 8am, hoping to finish the loop by lunch time but that was overly optimistic, to say the least. The hike along Pilot Ridge really does seem to go forever. It is gorgeous, but includes some very narrow catwalks and the descent from the ridge (list as 2.5 miles) was so steep it took us two full hours even though we thought we were moving at a pretty good clip. There were some downed trees on the descending trail that posed a challenge for us given that we're both under 5' 4" and the trail was deeply rutted in portions. I wish I had taken photos of trail conditions, but I was so tired at this point it didn't occur to me. All in all, this was an incredibly challenging weekend but offered some of the most stunning rewards of any hike I've ever had. I hope to return when the smoke isn't obscuring the views and I have more time to enjoy some of the optional side trips.

We did this loop clockwise, with one night at White Pass and one night at Blue Lake. It was an amazing trip and the scenery was wonderful, but there were a few more people than I'd hoped. We went Mon-Wed and camped with 4-6 other groups each night. My guess is that the wildfires have closed so many trails that people are getting crowded on to the remaining fire-free trails. I can't imagine how busy it must be on a weekend. On the plus side, everyone was super nice and it was fun to chat with like-minded people out on the trail. One note re: water - there isn't a ton of it, especially after White Pass. Between White Pass and Blue Lake there are a few murky ponds, but you'll definitely want a filter (not just chemical treatment). And between Blue Lake and N. Fork Sauk, there really wasn't much water at all. More details and photos here: http://evergreenendurance.com/2015/08/25/trip-report-white-passpilot-ridge-backpacking-with-the-boys/