White Pass - Pilot Ridge Loop — Thursday, Jul. 19, 2018

Six of us did the White Pass Pilot Ridge loop in three days, hitting the trailhead around 10:30am on Friday going clockwise and getting back to the cars by 1pm on Sunday. On day one we made it to the White Pass campsite, where there were about six other groups of hikers, half of which looked like they were heading to try for a summit of Glacier Peak. The walk is steep and hard from about mile 3-6 as you climb to the ridge line, but there are lots of places to rest in the shade. Once you hit the ridge the views start and don’t stop until a steep descent from the far side of the trail. Seriously the best hike for views that I’ve done in this area. Not for the faint of heart though! The ridgeline can be a bit exposed and while safe there were a few moments where my fear of heights got the better of me. We did the shortcut to Blue Lake, which was a slow, steep route and took probably as long as it would have to go around. Nice campsites there but we decided to make for s shorter day on Sunday and camped at “Freeman’s camp” off of the trailhead another few miles ahead. This was s small site just off the trail and could be easy to miss, but there’s another smaller site with great views about a mile or two further. Bugs were a bit annoying at night and near the river but otherwise not too bad. Snowfields were few and easy to cross. A good trip for poles if that helps your knees.