North Fork Sauk River, Pilot Ridge & Blue Lake High — Sunday, Aug. 11, 2002

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

I too am succumbing to the light weight backpacking craze. I have been gradually replacing heavy backpacking gear with lighter stuff over the past few months just so I could pack an extra 10 lbs of camera gear without breaking my back. The pack with food for 3 days and camera gear now weighs 26 lbs. This past weekend I decided to test this new equipment on a 28 mile loop trip up the North Fork Sauk trail, down the PCT to Dishpan Gap and out the Blue Lake trail (Pilot Ridge). As far as equipment is concerned: (1)The frameless pack (1 lb) was as comfortable as any internal frame pack I have ever used. Once I discovered how to distribute load (tight waist strap - loose shoulder straps) I hardly knew the pack was there. (2)The(1 lb)tarp tent works well (but buy a bug jacket - cause the tent doesn't keep out skeeters) (3) The (3 oz) alcohol stove (made of cat food cans) was easier to use than my Whisper-lite. No priming. No risk of broken parts. (4) A 24 oz sleeping bag is all you need for summer hiking. For me, carrying 10 lbs of camera gear on a trip like this would have been out of the question without the light weight items mentioned above. With the new gear the trip was a lark. Day 1: The North Fork Sauk trail (#649) begins at Sloan Creek CG and proceeds for approx 5 miles through old growth forest without much altitude gain before it starts climbing remorselessly upward for 2000 ft til it reaches 5500 ft. The last level mile of trail is etched into the upper wall of the N-Fk Sauk River valley - open flowered 'meadows' all the way to White Pass. These are not Kansas type meadows, though. They slope at 45 degrees. If you slip off the trail here you could roll for 2 or 3000'. This trail is in good shape - even though there had obviously been a whale of an avalanche this winter. A crew from Darrington has brushed, logged, and restored trail all the way to White Pass. At White Pass you meet the PCT and the meadows level out. I had never traveled this portion of the PCT - between White Pass and Indian Pass before, so it was a new experience for me. From White Pass to Indian Pass the trail is through broad level green meadows with views to the North (Glacier Peak) and East as you pass Indian Head Peak, Reflection Pond and Kid Pond. Then you descend into forested Indian Pass and ascend again to the airy open crest above Meander meadow. 1.5 miles further and Dishpan Gap appears. 4 different trails converge at this point, so its a hub of hiking activity. From Dishpan I hiked over the Blue Lake High Route (#652A) to Blue Lake to end my first day of hiking - 18 miles. Several excellent tent sites at Blue Lake. Superlative views of the Monte Cristo massif to the West down the Sloan Creek Valley. Day 2: The final (10 mile) leg of the loop was out Pilot Ridge (trail #652) - also known as the 'Blue Lake Trail'. The eastern half of this ridge walk is heavenly, with open meadows, views of Monte Cristo peaks and Sloan Peak. After a mile or so I could look across the Sauk river valley to the North and see the trail I had staggered up yesterday - the N-Fk Sauk Trail sweeping up the wall of the valley towards White Pass. Looking East up the Sauk valley is Glacier Peak and the White Pass and the White Chuck Glacier. The Western half of the ridge becomes wooded and the views disappear as the trail descends into a saddle and rises again (depressingly) and then begins the final brutal, seemingly never-ending descent to the Sauk. The ridge is completely dry. If you don't fill up at Blue Lake you will be very thirsty before you get to the Sauk. I highly recommend this loop for those who like ridge walking and open airy meadows.