A beautiful day for hiking Sauk Mountain. Road is fairly do-able until the last couple of miles where it has more than potholes and washboard. My CRV did fine, but I think low-clearance cars could be challenging. Still a few spots in the parking lot late morning. Probably started up the trail around 11:30, but it was cool enough that the sidehill exposure was not that hot most of the hike. A few wildflower blooms remaining here and there, but mostly gone and fall color is here. (I was thinking of the more colorful blooms - there is a lot of what I think is pearly everlasting still blooming.) I haven't seen the "don't take shortcut" signs before. Those seem a good addition to teach those that don't know the problems they cause. The trail can be tricky in a few places, where it is narrow, with a bit of loose dirt, and with a big rock to step up on to. Generally the trail wasn't dusty today - guessing some rain toned that down. The outhouse at the beginning did have an official USDA sign suggesting you don't use is since it is not cleaned or maintained. Considering that, it wasn't bad. Would have been better if people didn't leave trash on the floor, but not bad. The trail wasn't crowded but lots of folks getting started in the afternoon. Lots of dogs but well-behaved. A bit of haze, but still the panorama views are amazing.
I did think there used to be a sign where the trail goes down to Sauk Lake, but didn't see one there today. It would be good to have as it could be confusing for folks coming down...and not remembering which trail is to the trailhead since they both go down...and at that point, you can't actually see the lake. Stay right at that point to go around to front of Sauk and towards the trailhead.
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