Sulphur Mountain — Thursday, Aug. 19, 1999

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

See the excellent WTA Trail Review for details. The trail was deserted (on a sunny Friday), snow-free, and has a few easily bypassed blowdowns. No snow on the trail. It certainly is steep and the biting flies ensure that you won't stop too long to catch your breath. The view at the top (which you only get after nearly 5 miles in the trees) will take your breath away. And the horsefiles will take a significant fraction of your blood away, given the chance. I lingered there for 1 1/2 hours. Four hours up. Two hours down. My new GPS claims that it's 2.3 miles as the crow flies from carpark to the grassy summit at 6000' but 5.5 miles by trail.