Sauk Rv to PCT — Thursday, Sep. 22, 2005

I've always wanted to check out the fall color at White Pass area on the PCT. I headed up the Sauk Rv trail, astounded (yes, astounded) by it's lush beauty and huge trees; silver fir, doug fir, hemlock and cedar. The 2003 floods made interesting logjams all along the river, and have torn away the banks of Red Creek, rendering the downed trees useless in crossing the creek - they're no longer long enough (but this time of year, the creek is a walk-across). The FS is doing a bang-up job of a re-route, bringing the trail uphill from the River. A new bridge is in place over a mooky gully, and material is stacked and awaiting placement on other parts of the trail. There's an impressive rock wall on the re-route, and I was later told it was built by an all-female crew! I took lots of photos of the re-route, and marked its location - 10 or 20 years from now, I'll come back and hike the ""old"" trail. I really get a bang out of old trails. The PCT did not disappoint. I wandered over the ridge on the other side of White Pass and dropped down to explore the headwaters of the White Chuck. I tried to imagine the rush of water thundering down in 2003. It looks innocent enough now, lots of pretty whitey-aqua waterfalls and braided streams, pretty rock-scapes, and silty marshes that are home to thousands upon thousands of sedges. I wanted to spend the night below Red Pass, but I knew I was pushing my luck weather-wise. 3 good days in a row is about all you get in that area, so I huffed over Red Pass so I could be sure to see the views there, and went back to spend my 3rd night back at White Pass. Sure enough, the 4th day dawned with an icy cold wind, and Red Pass was tossing fog out of it's gap like crazy. That wacky old Glacier Peak - he sure likes to hide. My days there were mostly sunny, but there were plenty of gorgeous billowing clouds moving through like ships, making the sky typical of that of a painting by one of the Dutch Masters. The Sauk River trail in of itself is definately worth the trip. I encourage folks to go, if only for a few miles, to see the lushness of this area. Besides seeing the huge logjams on the River, there's lots of interesting fungus abound, and the old growth trees make whimsical shapes and figures to look at. I've included photos of both the headwaters of the White Chuck, and of the beautiful Sauk River trail. I have a cool pic of the Cinder Cone too, but maybe I'm the only one who really gets a bang out of the Cinder Cone (sometimes I can't tell if something really is cool, or if it's just cool to me).