First solo backpacking trip, spent exploring Glacier Peak Wilderness! 4 days, 3 nights, roughly 40 miles between Aug 20-23 2020.
Day 1: Bald Eagle TH -> unofficial campsite ~2 miles from TH (~2 miles)
Day 2: Bald Eagle trail -> Lower Blue Lake area (~10 miles)
Day 3: Lower Blue Lake -> Upper Blue Lake -> Dishpan Gap -> PCT to White Pass -> Red Pass -> Glacier Peak Meadows area -> back to Red Pass (~15 miles)
Day 4: Red Pass -> North Fork Sauk TH -> Road walk to Bald Eagle TH (~13 miles)
With the husband preoccupied with grad school stresses, I thought I'd take advantage of work flexibility to do my first solo backpacking trip, and landed on Glacier Peak Wilderness after reading MeLuckyTarn's and KatnissEvergreen's inspiring trail reports. Highly highly recommend this loop!
Details:
-Bald Eagle Trail to Blue Lakes: as others have reported, this trail is quite brushy but somehow still very easy to follow. Note that there are no campsites until Curry Gap. I decided to hike in on Thursday night to get a jump on the mileage and ended up camping in a grassy section right off the trail, but would not recommend this; if you can't make it to Curry Gap (where the campsites begin), I'd recommend car camping near the trailhead, since there are lots of established spots along the way (you could also camp in the stock unloading area 1/4 mile from the trailhead). The Bald Eagle trail has a different vibe than the North Fork Sauk trail; it reminded me of hiking back in Pennsylvania. Less mossy and ferny, more dry, with nice intermittent views of meadows which you don't get on the North Fork Sauk trail. I spotted a bear about 50 feet down the ridge, but it ran away as soon as I clanged my hiking poles together. The incline beat me up more than I thought it would, maybe because I was carrying more than usual? I was relieved to make it to the ridge, where you can see one of the Blue Lakes sparkling below (the Lower lake, I believe). I followed the trail sign (indicating the Pilot Ridge trail, I think) down, leaving the Bald Eagle Trail, which I'd rejoin farther on the next day. The descent to the lakes felt a little long but soon I got to what I thought was Lower Blue Lake, a little bemused by the size (I later learned that this was, in fact, NOT Lower Blue Lake, but an unnamed tarn). This was a wonderful place to camp and I didn't see a single person the rest of the day. By this time it was about 1:30pm, and I was originally thinking I'd take a break here for lunch and move on, but it started to rain and I decided to set up my tent rest for an hour. One hour turned to many as the gentle but steady rain continued and I luxuriated in creature comforts: a hot midday coffee (made under my vestibule), a perfectly smushed PB&J, my clean dry socks, and a good book. The rain let up enough for me to take a few soaks in the tarn, but not enough to entice me to pack up everything I had so cozily set up, so I stayed for the night, spending the afternoon reading saved trip reports and calculating mileage for the rest of the hike. By evening fog enveloped the tarn and after a good dinner I was lulled to sleep by the duet of bubbling stream and soft rain. Perfection!
-Blue Lakes to Dishpan Gap: In the morning I packed up and continued on the trail, passing another tarn and then what I soon realized was the "real" Lower Blue Lake. This entire area (Lower Blue Lake + tarns) has many cool camping sites, either near the water or more protected in the woods nearby. Very worth exploring to find the perfect spot. I continued to ascend until I arrived at Upper Blue Lake, which only had two groups set up from the night before (from what I could see). Upper Blue Lake is really interesting, and seemed to have an upper and lower portion with different camp sites to explore, with all sorts of spots on the shore, off in the woods, and along different overlooks. The high route back up to the ridge to meet up with the Bald Eagle trail was just as intense as others described, and definitely a lung burner to start the day, but the views looking down at Upper Blue Lake were honestly incredible. The trail to Dishpan Gap is along a ridge and quite cool, though I couldn't see the views well because of persisting clouds.
-Dishpan Gap to White Pass: Once at Dishpan Gap, you take a hard left to get on the PCT and make your way to White Pass. The trail here is an array of amazing ridgeline views and meadows (plus lots of berries ripe now, especially after passing Indian Pass). I was invigorated by lots of delightful, quick passing chats with the 6-7 solo and group hikers who had camped at White Pass and were heading to Blue Lake, including some former PCT thruhikers and several solo female backpackers (including an older women who was completing a ten day solo trip!). Also passed several trail runners doing the White Pass-Pilot Ridge loop, super impressive! I made it to White Pass around 1 and took a break at a clearing/former camp spot (no more camping on the ridge is allowed) right next to the split between the North Fork Sauk trail/PCT and Foam Creek.
-White Pass to Red Pass to Glacier Peak Meadows and Back: I continued on the PCT/North Fork Sauk trail until reaching the noticeable split where the PCT ascends to Red Pass, which is marked by a small signpost. Red Pass is really striking, the ridge and meadows up to Portal Peak are lush and bright, and looking down on the other side to White Chuck River basin toward Glacier Peak the view seemed austere, cold, and dramatic. I was set on finding Glacier Peak Meadows, which is not marked on GPX tracks I could find, but marked via a dotted (hard-to-follow) trail on the Green Trails map (#112) for this area. I followed the PCT down into the basin, passing the White Chuck cinder cone (which I thought was very creepy-looking) and reached a few clustered camp sites near a copse of trees, 1.6 miles from Red Pass. From here, I was totally stumped--I found several foot paths all over (one leading to a toilet!) but the way down to the river looked extremely steep and there was no clear trail. I even spotted a group on the other side of the river, near the waterfall mentioned in some trip reports about the meadows. But by this time my phone was low on battery and I didn't want to risk getting lost, so I decided (dejectedly) to hike back up to Red Pass and camp at a spot in the opposite valley I saw while hiking up earlier in the afternoon. On the plus side, after I paused to grab water and regroup, the family I spotted in the meadows came along up the trail (having done a day hike loop from foam creek back up to white pass) and gave me some super valuable beta for next time: apparently the rough footpath to the meadows can be found after passing the camp area; I hadn't continued far enough down the PCT past the camps to spot it. They said it was hard to follow and completely disappeared at times, but worth the trip. Next time! I made it to Red Pass and found the social trail leading down to a nice dry campsite in a small dirt clearing.
-Red Pass to North Fork Sauk Trailhead and Bald Eagle Trailhead: In the morning I hiked back down from Red Pass 1.3 miles to the PCT junction, taking in the incredible views of the mountains (including Mt Rainier!) and turned right to join the North Fork Sauk trail for my descent. I powered through and was super relieved to hit the Mackinaw shelter camp area, marking the end of switchbacks; the rest of the trail is a gentle slog through mossy, wet forest. I got to the packed parking lot and finished my trip with a 2.5 mile roadwalk back to my car at the Bald Eagle trailhead. If I ever do this itinerary again, I'd drive to the Bald Eagle TH, drop my pack, drive back and park at the North Fork Sauk trailhead, and frontend the roadwalk.
Other Notes:
-Navigation: I always think GPS is a must (I created my own route using Gaia for this loop) but of all the trails I've hiked this year, this was REALLY easy to follow and at no point was I uncertain about where to go, except at trail junctions.
-Trail conditions: Really great, only passed a few blowdowns, all very manageable.
-Water: Other trip reports have better details. I packed an extra bottle for the hike between Blue Lake and White Pass but didn't end up needing it. There were parts of the trail that were dry.
-Bugs: not an issue for me at all, I didn't even put bug spray on the last 2 days.
-Wildlife: Saw 1 bear off the Bald Eagle trail. Tons of marmots. Very few birds singing this late in the season, didn't even hear any night birds.
-Snow: Did not hit any snow.
-Road: Once Mountain Loop Hwy turns to gravel, the going is a little rough, and there are some potholes to navigate, but nothing sketchy at all.
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