We arrived at the trailhead around 10 to hike the short but steep 2 miles up and ski the backside of Sauk Mountain. It was already a hot one and the trail is clear of snow all the way to the top. So, there wasnt a lot of water on the trail. Our poor malamute was parched by the time we go to the top. The backside of Sauk Mountain has quite a bit snow still on the eastside down to the lake. We made a few good turns almost down to the lake. The last 500 feet or so we had to take off the skis and walk down. Had a nice lunch at the lake. Mosquitoes were abundant and annoying. We hiked back up the snowfield we skied, dropped our packs and hiked to the top of Sauk Mountain. Left around 2 to hit the Dairy Queen in Sedro Wooley before heading back to Seattle.

I'll keep this short, but I felt the need to write something to contribute to this wonderful resource. First off the road goes clear to the trail head now (which must be somewhat well known because the parking lot was packed). Trail was in great shape by my standards, and bugs weren't much of an issue most of the time but I wore bug repellent at any rate. Snow free to the top, but still large snow fields once you're on the other side. Decent trails through the snow so we made the journey across to the true summit, but a fall could've meant a slide down hundreds of yards. Great day hike, good luck and have fun.

Road in good condition (passenger car fine) all the way to within about .75 mile of trailhead, where it is blocked by snow. It will be at least several more weeks (July or later) before road is open to the the parking lot. There is decent parking for a dozen vehicles or so just below the snow blockage; it took us about 15 minutes to walk from the car up to the trailhead crossing several snowfields en route. Trail itself is in decent condition with a couple of very short (5 yards) snowfields near the top. Those should be gone by the end of June or so. A little muddy around those areas, but nothing awful. You can easily reach the ridgeline without encountering anything problematic. However, once you reach the ridgeline at the top of the talus field and cross over to the other side, snow becomes a significant problem. There are large (hundreds of yards) snowfields covering virtually all of the far side of the summit. They are passable with caution, but we elected not to proceed further given that a slip could result in a hiker sliding hundreds of yards down the slope. Thus we did not reach the true summit. Despite the snow beyond the ridge, it was a glorious if short hike. The approach slope is already widely covered with wild flowers, and the marmots are whistling near the top. There were a few bugs, but they were not really a problem. The views of Mt. Baker, Glacier, Rainier, Olympics, San Juans, etc. were outstanding as always.

Park opposite unmarked but obvious path just west of the west end of Conrad Road in large open spot on S side of SH 20 east of Rockport (elev 300'). I went up about 2 miles on an old steep road, saw a section corner sign that the map says is the USFS boundary (~ elev 1800') but no USFS boundary sign. Lots of mushy leaves and small blowdowns, but only a little snow and easy to follow. Earlier report indicates that old trail follows SE ridge of Sauk to meet new.

I felt like a genius as I approached Rockport on Hiway 530 at 2 pm, seeing the blue sky patches in amongst the dark clouds. The weather forecast was right, better weather in the afternoon, and better up north a ways. Then, as I drove up the Sauk mtn road, up and up and up, all the way up into the clouds, I realized I was actually an idiot. While I was in the right area at the right time for some decent weather, I was not at the right altitude (4,300ft). The choice of a hike that is good because of the panoramic views said to be had from the top was not my finest moment in hike selection. Daisy and I started in dense clouds at the TH, and remained in dense clouds the whole time. We saw panoramic views of the ten feet surrounding us in each direction. It was a good little leg-stretcher of a hike, and we played some fetch at Rockport SP afterwards as a treat for the dog, so the day wasn't a total loss. There were actually some fall-colorful meadows to enjoy, and a few peek-a-boo views of the Sauk river below, but I will definitely have to come back some clear day to actually see what this hike is all about. The road is washboardy but not too bad, just watch for brake overheating on the long, steep way down. Trail is in good shape.