My friend and I attempted the White Pass-Pilot Ridge Loop earlier this week.

Bugs were terrible at the trailhead, but disappeared as soon as we started hiking.  We crossed the river on an easy log at the Pilot Ridge junction, then headed up the switchbacks.   The trail became around 50% snow covered about 200 feet below the pass, but navigation was not difficult.  The snow disappeared upon cresting the ridge.

After reaching the first 5300' high point on the ridge, the trail becomes totally snow covered and disappears for around a quarter of a mile. However, if you stay on the ridge crest you will run into it again without too many difficulties.

The trail is mostly free of snow along Pilot ridge after that, until the final half mile below the high point beneath Johnson mountain. This portion is 100% snow covered, with some steep slopes.  Microspikes and poles are highly recommended for this sections, and an ice axe would have been nice for peace of mind.

After the high point, the trail was around 30% snow covered to Blue Lake. 

The Blue Lakes high route looked snow covered and dangerous, so we opted for the low route south to near June mountain. The trail was 100% snow covered from Blue lake onwards, and a lot of route finding was necessary while climbing out towards the pass near June mountain.  Traversing towards Dishpan gap, the trail was around 70% snow covered.  It was getting late, so we ended up camping in a snow-covered basin near the trail in this section.

The next day it was rainy and cloudy, so we decided to return the way we came instead of pushing on to White Pass.  I imagine there would have been many steep snowfields to traverse if we had pushed on, and an ice axe would probably have been handy.

We had planned to do the pilot ridge loop in 4 days for 4th of July weekend but by the time we got the white pass we found that the trail was fully snow covered and that there was no one who had started a boot path in said snow in that direction, everyone was going north on the PCT to summit glacier peak. We did not bring any snow equipment, gaiters, spikes or ice ax let alone enough insulation to camp on snow so the trip was abandoned by us after night one. Just a heads up, the snow levels this year are quite a big lower than 2019 in the North Cascades. On south facing slopes you are going to start hitting snow patches around 5600' and continuous full snow around 6000'.

I've had this backpacking trip on my list for a long time and everything seemed to align for me to be able to check this one off my list. Getting there was pretty easy, the unpaved portion of the road was in pretty good shape, potholes were not too bad until FS road 49 and even then they weren't terrible but low clearance vehicles should go slow. I arrived around 12:30 pm and the trail head was packed. I didn't expect there would be very many on a weekday but it made sense as I figured everyone had the same idea I did. Fortunately there are some areas to park just beyond the stock only parking by the camping area (I didn't even know it existed, I didn't see any pay station so it might be free). I didn't want to park in any of the camp sites as I wouldn't be camping there and I don't know how they are regulated so I found a spot between a few trees. After getting the pup leashed up I hit the trail.

The first few miles to the Pilot Ridge junction where muddy but easy and the sun was shining. I took the path up to White Pass where I planned to setup camp.

The toughest part was the ascent up to the PCT from Mackinaw Shelter. I still managed to make pretty good time and hit White pass around 3:30 pm. The weather had started to turn from heavy overcast to light rain. Having planned for a 3 day trip I decided I would make it a two day instead as I wasn't expecting rain until the third day. So I pushed on from White Pass and planned instead to make it to Upper Blue Lake to setup camp.

I'd only come across 4 people on the trail to this point and on the trek from White Pass to Indian Creek I ran into a lot of other hikers. Most of those I talked to had the same change of plans that I did making their trips shorter due to the weather. Given the heavy cloud cover I missed out on all the views. The fall colors that I could see were fantastic though. 

I was not moving as fast as I thought, having to be a little extra careful with my footing as it had started raining pretty good. I made it to Indian Creek around 5 pm and I figured there was no way I was going to make it to Upper Blue Lake before nightfall so I decided to change plans and camp at Lake Sally Ann instead. Around 7 pm I was still a ways from my destination so I broke out the headlamp, it was the first time I'd ever hiked after dark. It was a little difficult to hear things over the rain making it a little eerie but otherwise it was peaceful and I figure if there was an animal or something approaching my pup would alert me. 

Finally made it to Lake Sally Ann about 8:30 pm and there were plenty of spots available. I tried to find one with some tree cover so my tent wouldn't get too soaked setting up in the rain. I finally found a partially covered spot and got the tent set up. Fortunately I was able to get the tent setup under the fly so the tent was dry leaving only myself my dog as the two wet things in the tent. I was surprised how much the pack had weighed me down  especially given I thought I had packed pretty light. I was exhausted and went right to sleep. 

I woke up around 6 am and it was not quite light out, it was cool seeing the trees kind of back lit in the fog. I took my time breaking down camp and had to break out the trash bags as it had rained pretty hard most of the night and the fly and underside of tent were wet where some runoff had gone underneath it. It didn't soak my bag or anything else in the tent so I was happy.

Had everything packed up and ready to go by 7:30 am and began my trek out. It was definitely slower going as the trail was very wet and muddy. The trail as whole was in great shape however even though it wasn't raining the rain soaked vegetation hung over the trail. Eventually it got to be too much for my boots to repel and they were soaked all the way through. I was hoping that there might be a parting of the clouds and I would be able to catch some amazing views on the way down Pilot Ridge but it was not meant to be. The sun did eventually make its way out as I was on the last couple of miles out to the parking lot.

Got to the truck around 5:50 pm and was very happy to strip off the pack, rain jacket etc and get on the road. All told it was a mixed trip but I'm glad I did it, got to experience a lot of firsts and good education for future trips. I'm definitely going to pay attention to how much weight I'm packing next time because on the way out I was feeling every pound of it. 

Started at the Sloan creek trailhead before 2 pm and finally made it to a welcome campsite at white pass a little after 8 pm. The Gorgeous morning called for a quick hike to red pass and up portal peak, then back to camp for a breezy nap. That evening I camped near Indian pass and the next day hiked along the PCT to dishpan gap and the ridge trail to a grassy campsite between long john and bald eagle mountain. The last morning was almost all downhill to curry gap, then to the cadet creek trailhead where I luckily got a ride with other campers the last three miles back to Sloan creek trailhead. one of the best loop hikes, trail is in excellent shape, outstanding trail maintenance especially in remote locations; water can be scarce along the bald eagle ridge. (photo is looking north to white pass from dishpan gap.)

Thanks to some suggestions from the Darrington and Glacier Ranger Stations, we did a 2 night/3 day backpack doing a clockwise loop starting at the North Fork Sauk River trail, up to White Pass and Blue lake. Blueberries, wildflowers, marmots, and mushrooms galore! Bugs weren't too bad with some pretty strong bug spray, but the flies were worse than the mosquitoes.

The first bit of the trail is pretty straightforward, hiking through the forest with the river right next to you. After about 5-6 miles, you'll pass a wooden structure by the river on your right, which is where you should fill up water as there is none between this point and White Pass. You'll start a pretty challenging climb, gaining 1000 ft elevation per mile for about 4 miles (half exposed and half in tree cover). Once the climb is done you start to traverse the mountain, walking through blueberries and meadows with peaks all around you. We camped at White Pass, and there were plenty of campsites to go around, and apparently a toilet (but I never saw it). The creek was pretty stagnant so we ended up having to backtrack onto the trail to find running water down a crevice in the mountain. The pass was an AMAZING place to watch the sunset/sunrise and do some marmot spotting.

The next day we headed towards Blue Lake, hiking most of this day on the PCT. The trail was easy to follow, though slightly bushy at times, with more views (Glacier Peak!), valleys, and blueberries. After Dishpan Gap we decided to take the high route over to Blue Lake, which I would not do in snow, or recommend for anyone afraid of heights. This was a steep climb, with a pretty narrow trail and steep drop on one side, but was the quickest way to the lake. Blue lake is clear and swimmable, with plenty of campsites to go around. So beautiful!

Leaving blue lake, you'll head north and east (to the right side of the campsites) to catch the trail out. Fill up your water before you leave Blue Lake as there isn't any for about 6 miles. The last day was spent hiking along a ridge, which had some doable ups and downs, and then dropping about 3000ft in 3 miles (my knees are still hurting) to get back to the North Fork Sauk River, crossing the river on a log, and then heading back down the original trail towards the trailhead.