Lost Creek Ridge, Kennedy Hotsprings, Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Section K - Stevens Pass to Rainy Pass, Red Pass & North Fork Sauk River — Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025

This was a 40-ish mile solo hike starting at Sloan Peak Trailhead and looping clockwise around Black Mountain. It was a difficult hike spanning 3 days where the trail was overgrown, lost a few times, and required some bushwhacking to complete. The trail was stocked with berries (Blue, Red, Mountain huckleberries) so any pause in the hike was spent picking and gorging on berries.

Callout: I'd like to thank "A25" for the hard work near White Chuck River and Kennedy Creek.

Recommendation: Bring poles, pants, and extra socks since the overgrowth will get your legs wet from a previous rain or morning dew.

Schedule:

• Day 1: Sloan Peak Trailhead -> Lost Creek Ridge Trailhead -> Camp Lake (12+ miles w/ 5550ft gain and 1770ft loss)
• Day 2: Camp Lake -> Kennedy Hotsprings -> White Chuck River Trail -> PCT -> Glacier Meadows/White Chuck Cinder Cone (12 miles w/ 3330ft gain and 3600ft loss)
• Day 3: PCT Glacier Meadows -> Red Pass -> North Fork Sauk Trail -> Mackinaw Shelter -> North Fork Sauk Trailhead -> Sloan Peak Trailhead (15 miles w/ 1600ft gain and 5140ft loss)

Day 1 - Lost Creek Ridge

I got a late start, which began hiking along the level forest road to the trailhead. The trail had a nice climb up to Round Lake, but then began to gain elevation and lose it all the way to Camp Lake. The trail was busy up to Round lake, with 15+ people/7 parties, going back to the trail head. Afterward that, there was only 1 or two hikers.

On the way to the lake my tent detached from my pack and fell down the side of a steep cliff into a wooded ravine. It luckily snagged on a tree branch 20 feet down and I decided to risk a dangerous climb, using bush and tree branches for anchor points. The tent was recovered, otherwise the trip could have ended with a cancelled hike, or nights in an emergency bivy, or a tumble down a 50ft cliff side.

Walking up the hill and seeing Camp Lake while the sun was setting was a welcome and beautiful surprise. There were at least 3 separate parties that took various camp sites around the lake. A few hikers brought out their fishing gear and hooked some 12+ lake trout making me regret leaving my rod at home.

Since all the regular camp sites were occupied, I decided to search for a level spot some distance away from the lake instead of crashing someone else's spot.

Day 2 - Trek to White Chuck River and on to the PCT

I read some reports on WTA and on AllTrails about the trail condition from the lake to the PCT. It was possible the trail didn't exist near White Chuck, or the river was too strong to cross if there were no log crossings, or the trail on the other side wasn't maintained and didn't exist. So, due to my nature and love of exploration, I decided to take the gamble. If I couldn't make it, I'd just turn around, hike back up to Lake Byrne, sleep for a night, then exit back the way I came. Luckily with a little determination I was able to get across.

The quality of the trail from Lake Byrne down is steep and overgrown with berry bushes. There are a lot of blow downs and other obstacles that need to be climbed or bypassed. Closer to the river the trail is swamped in Devil's Club and is lost. It takes some bushwhacking and a keen eye to get through.

Once down at the river, there is a nice sandy campsite with a primitive fire ring. To get across the river, a couple of log crossings are needed. The first is downstream White Chuck and gets across to the other side. The next is needed to cross Kennedy Creek. I found one log crossing for White Chuck, but found two for Kennedy Creek. The one farther up Kennedy Creek is larger and much easier to cross.

Log Crossings:

• White Chuck - (collage top) - Coords: 48.11914, -121.19604
• Kennedy Creek (collage middle) - Coords: 48.11959, -121.19381
• Kennedy Creek (collage bottom) - Coords: 48.11992, -121.19267

Once across, I lost the trail and suspect it has to do with the river washout on the cliff next to the log crossing throwing me off. So, I pushed through some bushes and did a scramble up loose ground and moss at a 70 degree angle for about 250 feet (80ft gain) until I met with the White Chuck River Trail. Once there the trail was very nice and has been preserved well over the years. I was tempted to walk down the trail to the river to see where it meets, but I didn't want to waste the time and energy after that scramble.

At some point (Coords 48.111, -121.18049), I don't know how, but I lost the trail. Maybe it isn't as well maintained as I initially thought. So, I had to push through over blow downs and bushes near the stream to get back on trail (Coords 48.10982, -121.17956). This was frustrating since I was only 200 yards from the PCT.

Other than that, the hike to the PCT was uneventful except for the copious amount of spider webs I ended up eating.

At the fork, I should mention my hike to that point was making about 1 mile-per-hour due to the trail conditions and it was 6 miles from Camp Lake.

The PCT itself was a breeze and, as expected, more crowded with NOBOs. I only saw one SOBO. Most of the water sources were milky/silty from White Chuck, so check FarOut for recommendations on where to fill up. Otherwise, I think a good fill up would be after the trail branches away from White Chuck River and before the climb/switchbacks or, even better, after the climb (Coords 48.06891, -121.15717).

The sun set by the time I was just shy of the White Chuck Cinder Cone where I set up camp. There were 3 other camp sites near by (2 occupied).

Day 3 - Red Pass and North Sauk River

The night was spent in a wet cloud but morning was gorgeous and magical. It was hard to make progress being too distracted with the view of Glacier Peak and the surrounding meadows. I also took my time being a chatterbox socializing with hikers passing by. One thing that sticks with me every time, is the vibes of the PCT hikers; almost everyone is open and still has a spark inside even with the sleep deprivation.

The view near Red Pass is fantastic, but I had to head down the North Fork Sauk River trail and get back. The trip down wasn't too bad, but I imagine the trip up would be strenuous since it is a steep climb. On the way down it was very busy (7 parties) with hikers making their way up to Glacier Peak.

Once down to the river I looked at the ruins of Mackinaw Shelter and resupplied on water. Then I booked it down the trail to the trailhead. It was nice and basically level. However, the only other spot to refill water was probably only the Pilot Ridge Trail fork.

Once at the North Fork Sauk Trailhead, I still had a 2.5 mile hike on the Forest Road. For some reason, it felt like it was partially uphill. Maybe that was due to the miles I already covered and my feet were complaining.

Overall

I'm am glad I did it. It was a hard hike that challenged me physically, yet provided enough adventure and challenges to make it more than simply exercising in an unbelievably beautiful setting.