We hiked up Sauk Mountain on a sunny but unseasonably cold morning.  When we arrived at the trailhead at about 11:00 a.m. the temperature hovered around freezing.  The road in was in good shape, except for bone-rattling washboard, until the final mile, when the snow began.  The last mile was snow covered and quite icy.  We parked at the second to last switchback, about a half mile before the trailhead, just before the road crosses the open avalanche slope.  Two other vehicles were also parked there.  One car had made it to the trailhead parking lot and one truck was parked at the final switchback.  Three other vehicles made it to the parking lot later in the day, while we were on the trail.  When we hiked back down to our truck in the afternoon, the road was still fully covered in snow and ice. 

The snow was deeper than we had been expecting at the trailhead and all along the trail.  Poking my hiking pole into the snow, I estimated about 6-10 inches of snow in the flatter areas, with even deeper snow in the hollows.  There was no sign of melting, even in mid-afternoon on the sunny slope.

Several people had been up the trail before us and it was easy to follow their boot prints up the trail.  The snow underfoot was still soft and slippery, which made for slower going than usual, and we wished we had brought our micro-spikes. The steep slope was streaked with avalanche tracks where the snow had slid off the low bushes and dead flowers and pushed down the slope in jumbles of hard-packed snow junks.  We picked our way carefully over these jumbles to rejoin the trail on the other side.  We kept our eyes on the slope above as we hiked along, in case any new slides might happen above us.  It had been several days since the snow, and the slope seemed to have stabilized.  We didn’t see any new slides while we were there.

The boot trail we were following veered off of the main trail about a quarter mile from the summit, just after the trail turned northwest on the final traverse.  Two couples who had preceded us up the trail were up on the rocky ridge above us and their tracks headed uphill southwest of the trail.  Another pair of hikers had tracked a couple of hundred yards further west below the ridge, to a lower rocky outcrop with views over Sauk lake.  The actual trail could not be discerned in the snow.  We considered soldiering on, using our GPS to guide us along the trail, but we decided that the final, steep climb up through the rocks to Sauk summit would be too dangerous, even if we could find the route 

We could see the cliffs that the trail winds through and decided there was just too much snow for safe travel. 

Instead, we followed the tracks up the rocky butte to the south.  The other groups left as we ascended, so we ended up with the little summit to ourselves.  We found dry perches on the snow-free rocks and marveled at the gorgeous views.  We seemed to be on the last mini-peak along the long, lumpy spine of Sauk Mountain.  The higher peaks of spine blocked our view of Mount Baker to the north, but we could see Mount Shuksan, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, and many other peaks of the North Cascades, as well as the long curve of the Skagit River valley out to the coastal plain.  Although we were disappointed not to be able to make it to the top, our lesser perch was a worthwhile destination for such a snowy hike. 

As always, the Sauk Mountain trail delivered wonderful views all the way.  Even with the snow, the relatively modest grade and open trail made for a very pleasant and rewarding hike, delivering a lot of reward for only modest effort.

The snow on the road began about 1 mile from trailhead.  We parked on a switchback 1/2 mile from trailhead and hiked up.  9 - 12" of snow at trailhead.  We cut tracks 1/2 mile on the trail but turned around (some small snow-slides on the avalanche chutes).  Very pretty but only for those wishing to hike in snow.  This may melt with the next warm rain.

What a glorious day to be on Sauk! This is a favorite yearly hike for me, usually during summer bloom. Fall was even more stunning. Colors were so vivid and the scenery was incredible. Biting insects when we stopped were an irritant, but shouldn't deter you, should we be lucky enough to get another clear day this fall

Just want to encourage folks to get out now to enjoy the fall color. While Sauk is known for its wildflowers, it puts on a pretty nice show in the fall. We arrived at the trailhead around 9am. Lots of empty spaces. Passed two groups coming down as we were on the way up, who had spent the night on Sauk. Otherwise it was peaceful and quiet, with low clouds and fog in the early part, which gave way by the time we got to the top and the mountains were out: Glacier, Baker and Rainier. There had been a dusting of snow earlier in the week and it was still around a bit off to the side of the trail. Enough snow to make a little snowball for our dog to play catch with.  Also frost and a little ice in spots so also be prepared and careful if hiking early in the day before the temps warm up to melt any ice/frost.

As a previous poster commented, the pit toilet isn't maintained by rangers, so please don't leave your garbage in the outhouse. It was pretty clean toilet wise, but there was some trash on the floor. If you carried your zip lock bag in with something in it, you can certainly carry it out when it's empty. No toilet paper in the outhouse, so plan accordingly. ;)