Possibly the most stunning place I've ever spent the night!
Road was brutally washboarded. No issues for my low-clearance car, just bumpy and slow and not-fun the whole time. Arrived at the trailhead by 7:45am Sunday, it was maybe half full. Took my time getting my gear together, and by the time I departed around 8:30am, it was getting a lot closer to full.
Hike took me 3 hours from trailhead to Sahale Glacier camp. First few miles of switchbacks are gentle. On the way down, it just seemed like never-ending in that forest!
After Cascade Pass, the trail gets pretty steep for about a mile up to Doubtful Lake, and then evens out for a while. Heading along the traverse across the top of Doubtful Lake, saw a black bear up ahead on the trail! On the way down the next day, saw another bear close to the same spot... no idea if it's the same or different. Other folks I talked to reported seeing up to 3 bears on the hike up on Sunday.
The final steep section up to the camp is pretty brutal, but just take it one step at a time and you get there. And wow, is it worth it. That privy! They're not kidding when they say it's the best sh!t in the state.
I arrived at the campground at about 11:30am. In my assessment of the campsites available, there's 4 really good ones (they're all good, really. How could they not be, with that kind of view) - and by the time I arrived, 3 of those 4 were already taken. I snagged the last of those really nice spots, and others got claimed as people arrived throughout the day.
I've attached my map describing my opinion on the quality of all the sites. I gotta emphasize... while that very first one is pretty ideal from a views perspective, I really wouldn't want to sleep there. It was the stopping point for every day hiker, sitting in that campsite eating their lunch and dropping food crumbs all over the place. Wouldn't want to sleep on top of all that smelly debris in bear country!
Overnight, it was windy but manageable. Most incredible sunset and sunrise of my life. Woke up to a mountain goat right outside my tent, drinking some glacier melt and minding his own business! He was really cool to watch until some of the other overnighters scared him off by getting too close... pretty bad behavior if you ask me. Leave the wildlife alone, please.
The descent took me 2hr30min. Was much less crowded on a Monday in off-season, but the parking lot was still mostly full at midday!
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