Three of us hiked the White Pass - Pilot Ridge Loop over 4 1/2 days. I had first hiked this loop route half a century ago, so was thrilled to re-visit this beautiful area! We hiked up the North Fork Sauk trail the first afternoon and camped at Mackinaw Camp. Easy trail in excellent condition. Gorgeous old growth. Pleasant camp by the river.
The next morning we hiked the 2.8 miles of switchbacks up to White Pass. Trail was in good shape, but it was very hot so a very tiring climb. No energy left to take the side trip over to Foam Basin for the great in-your-face view of Glacier Peak.
Day 3 we hiked the PCT portion of the route and camped at Dishpan Gap. Met quite a few PCT through-hikers, encountered a bit of rain, enjoyed a wealth of wildflowers at their best, and of course savored the stunning views of Glacier Peak all along the way.
Day 4 we hiked the longer route via the Bald Eagle Trail to the Blue Lakes, camping at the upper lake. This portion of the route had some challenging sections with a couple of small snow fields, a few downed trees, some scree. It was slow-going here, but all doable. We spoke with some hikers who had taken the high route to Blue Lake. They said it was snow-free but very difficult.... some parts like trying to ski on loose scree.
On our final day we hiked out on the Pilot Ridge Trail. This was a long day! The 10+miles seemed to take forever! Much of the ridge hike is up & down and up & down across huge meadowed slopes and occasionally through treed areas. Trail conditions ranged from bad to excellent, with the relentless 2.5 miles of switchbacks down to the Sauk being the excellent part thankfully.
Water sources: We did find plentiful water. Several streams and rivulets on the way up to White Pass; streams and tarns at White Pass camp area; several little lakes/tarns/rivulets along the PCT portion; two tarns at Dishpan Gap; even one lively stream on the Pilot Ridge trail on the decent portion. Many of these water sources will not be available later in the summer. Easy to make camp in appropriate places even with the large number of through-hikers and Glacier Peak climbers.
Overall, a fabulous trip with amazing views in every direction of numerous peaks. Glacier Peak and Sloan Peak, of course, dominating. Highly recommend this wonderful loop. Fifty years ago I did it in 3-days as many younger people do today. This time I took 4 1/2 days with time to really savor the amazing views and plentiful wildflowers. Truly a joy!
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