We were day-hiking from Seattle and this was the closest "Big Tree" hike we could get to. Completely worth the drive up - which was also breathtaking. We hiked almost to the shelter and back - pretty easy and very beautiful! The trees were majestic and the view of nearby peaks were stunning.  Also, during most of the hike there were zero human sounds - just nature's silence.

There is a toilet at the trail head. The road is rough, but we were in a sedan, took it slow, and had no issues. The parking is a bit confusing. When you are on the forest road you will see the sign for North Fork Sauk River Trail on your left, a small parking area on your right, and a road going up to the left of the sign. Go up that road and there is parking and the toilet right at the actual trailhead.  

This was a 40-ish mile solo hike starting at Sloan Peak Trailhead and looping clockwise around Black Mountain. It was a difficult hike spanning 3 days where the trail was overgrown, lost a few times, and required some bushwhacking to complete. The trail was stocked with berries (Blue, Red, Mountain huckleberries) so any pause in the hike was spent picking and gorging on berries.

Callout: I'd like to thank "A25" for the hard work near White Chuck River and Kennedy Creek.

Recommendation: Bring poles, pants, and extra socks since the overgrowth will get your legs wet from a previous rain or morning dew.

Schedule:

• Day 1: Sloan Peak Trailhead -> Lost Creek Ridge Trailhead -> Camp Lake (12+ miles w/ 5550ft gain and 1770ft loss)
• Day 2: Camp Lake -> Kennedy Hotsprings -> White Chuck River Trail -> PCT -> Glacier Meadows/White Chuck Cinder Cone (12 miles w/ 3330ft gain and 3600ft loss)
• Day 3: PCT Glacier Meadows -> Red Pass -> North Fork Sauk Trail -> Mackinaw Shelter -> North Fork Sauk Trailhead -> Sloan Peak Trailhead (15 miles w/ 1600ft gain and 5140ft loss)

Day 1 - Lost Creek Ridge

I got a late start, which began hiking along the level forest road to the trailhead. The trail had a nice climb up to Round Lake, but then began to gain elevation and lose it all the way to Camp Lake. The trail was busy up to Round lake, with 15+ people/7 parties, going back to the trail head. Afterward that, there was only 1 or two hikers.

On the way to the lake my tent detached from my pack and fell down the side of a steep cliff into a wooded ravine. It luckily snagged on a tree branch 20 feet down and I decided to risk a dangerous climb, using bush and tree branches for anchor points. The tent was recovered, otherwise the trip could have ended with a cancelled hike, or nights in an emergency bivy, or a tumble down a 50ft cliff side.

Walking up the hill and seeing Camp Lake while the sun was setting was a welcome and beautiful surprise. There were at least 3 separate parties that took various camp sites around the lake. A few hikers brought out their fishing gear and hooked some 12+ lake trout making me regret leaving my rod at home.

Since all the regular camp sites were occupied, I decided to search for a level spot some distance away from the lake instead of crashing someone else's spot.

Day 2 - Trek to White Chuck River and on to the PCT

I read some reports on WTA and on AllTrails about the trail condition from the lake to the PCT. It was possible the trail didn't exist near White Chuck, or the river was too strong to cross if there were no log crossings, or the trail on the other side wasn't maintained and didn't exist. So, due to my nature and love of exploration, I decided to take the gamble. If I couldn't make it, I'd just turn around, hike back up to Lake Byrne, sleep for a night, then exit back the way I came. Luckily with a little determination I was able to get across.

The quality of the trail from Lake Byrne down is steep and overgrown with berry bushes. There are a lot of blow downs and other obstacles that need to be climbed or bypassed. Closer to the river the trail is swamped in Devil's Club and is lost. It takes some bushwhacking and a keen eye to get through.

Once down at the river, there is a nice sandy campsite with a primitive fire ring. To get across the river, a couple of log crossings are needed. The first is downstream White Chuck and gets across to the other side. The next is needed to cross Kennedy Creek. I found one log crossing for White Chuck, but found two for Kennedy Creek. The one farther up Kennedy Creek is larger and much easier to cross.

Log Crossings:

• White Chuck - (collage top) - Coords: 48.11914, -121.19604
• Kennedy Creek (collage middle) - Coords: 48.11959, -121.19381
• Kennedy Creek (collage bottom) - Coords: 48.11992, -121.19267

Once across, I lost the trail and suspect it has to do with the river washout on the cliff next to the log crossing throwing me off. So, I pushed through some bushes and did a scramble up loose ground and moss at a 70 degree angle for about 250 feet (80ft gain) until I met with the White Chuck River Trail. Once there the trail was very nice and has been preserved well over the years. I was tempted to walk down the trail to the river to see where it meets, but I didn't want to waste the time and energy after that scramble.

At some point (Coords 48.111, -121.18049), I don't know how, but I lost the trail. Maybe it isn't as well maintained as I initially thought. So, I had to push through over blow downs and bushes near the stream to get back on trail (Coords 48.10982, -121.17956). This was frustrating since I was only 200 yards from the PCT.

Other than that, the hike to the PCT was uneventful except for the copious amount of spider webs I ended up eating.

At the fork, I should mention my hike to that point was making about 1 mile-per-hour due to the trail conditions and it was 6 miles from Camp Lake.

The PCT itself was a breeze and, as expected, more crowded with NOBOs. I only saw one SOBO. Most of the water sources were milky/silty from White Chuck, so check FarOut for recommendations on where to fill up. Otherwise, I think a good fill up would be after the trail branches away from White Chuck River and before the climb/switchbacks or, even better, after the climb (Coords 48.06891, -121.15717).

The sun set by the time I was just shy of the White Chuck Cinder Cone where I set up camp. There were 3 other camp sites near by (2 occupied).

Day 3 - Red Pass and North Sauk River

The night was spent in a wet cloud but morning was gorgeous and magical. It was hard to make progress being too distracted with the view of Glacier Peak and the surrounding meadows. I also took my time being a chatterbox socializing with hikers passing by. One thing that sticks with me every time, is the vibes of the PCT hikers; almost everyone is open and still has a spark inside even with the sleep deprivation.

The view near Red Pass is fantastic, but I had to head down the North Fork Sauk River trail and get back. The trip down wasn't too bad, but I imagine the trip up would be strenuous since it is a steep climb. On the way down it was very busy (7 parties) with hikers making their way up to Glacier Peak.

Once down to the river I looked at the ruins of Mackinaw Shelter and resupplied on water. Then I booked it down the trail to the trailhead. It was nice and basically level. However, the only other spot to refill water was probably only the Pilot Ridge Trail fork.

Once at the North Fork Sauk Trailhead, I still had a 2.5 mile hike on the Forest Road. For some reason, it felt like it was partially uphill. Maybe that was due to the miles I already covered and my feet were complaining.

Overall

I'm am glad I did it. It was a hard hike that challenged me physically, yet provided enough adventure and challenges to make it more than simply exercising in an unbelievably beautiful setting.

Did a Fri-Sun two-nighter, both nights at Mackinaw with a day trip up to Red Pass and back. Blueberries were out in full force and we had some good huckleberries too.

Water: Intermittent water along the North Fork Sauk trail all the way to Mackinaw. Once you start climbing up toward the PCT, no water for the first ~2/3 of the way, with several small crossings for the last ~1/3 up to the junction with the PCT. Then no water along the PCT along the way to Red Pass.

Mackinaw Shelter: No more shelter (just the remains), but a wonderful camp right alongside the river! We weren’t sure how accessible the water would be from camp, and were pleased that we were right there. Clean and new-seeming toilet.

Bugs: practically none! Really wonderful.

Road and parking: Road in wonderful condition the whole way — able to take it at ~30mph in my VW golf the whole way. Parking lot had maybe ~50 spots and many were full but we found a spot no problem.

Did a day hike from the trailhead up to the PCT and back.

Small branch lying across part of the road but easy to maneuver around.

Trail is snow free and shaded most of the way, only the last mile of the climb is exposed. I had a breeze at 11a and it was only 70 (60 in the shade). Pretty good hike for a hot day

Several small creeks cross the trail before you get to the climb which starts around 5-6 miles in, right after the camp. The footbridge across a larger creek has a few missing handrails but is manageable. Didn't see any water on the 3mi climb except towards the bottom (down a sketchy chute), and towards the top (small creeks crossing the trail).

Wildflowers are out in force, starting when you get to the exposed area on the climb. Amazing!

Bugs weren't bad, a few at the trailhead but otherwise pretty pleasant.

Saw about 50/50 backpackers and climbers. Not too crowded though.

Beautiful area! I was scouting paths to the PCT for a future section hike and this is a pretty nice access route (although the climb up is steep).

I did a 3 day, 2 night trip going counter clockwise on the loop from Thursday afternoon to Saturday morning.

Day 1:

Headed up the Pilot Ridge, there were a few blowdowns but nothing too crazy; the trail could be found within a minute of scouting. The bigger issue is water if you are going this route. Going up I counted 2 water sources (not counting the random seeps running down the trail. There is a really strong stream that was wide enough to rock hop, then another weaker stream higher up near one of the blowdowns. Otherwise it is pretty dry until hitting Blue Lake. Luckily I was prepared for this and carried 2.5L upon hitting the ridge to dry camp. I had a late start so I was already on the lookout for camp sites. I saw a pretty large clearing for multiple tents, but continued a bit further to a 1 tent site 7.5 miles from the trailhead according to Strava. 

Day 2:

The clouds rolled in overnight and I was treated to dew dripping from the trees above, but upon waking up I had a glorious view of Glacier peak with fog filling the valleys below. Continuing to Blue Lake, I decided on a side quest to Johnson Mountain which I highly recommend. The trail up was very straightforward I had stunning views of Blue Lake below and was able to see Mt Baker down to Mt Rainier. However, at this point the mosquitoes were well aware of my presence and I suspect they will get worse over the next week or two. I made my way down to Blue Lake and up the High Route. I didn't have microspikes but was not held up by the lingering patches of snow. By the time you read this, they will be even less of a concern or completely gone. A quick decent down and following the PCT to White Pass, I set up camp at the campground below the ridge.

Day 3:

I made a quick stop to check out Red Pass before heading down back to the trailhead. On the way down I encountered a bunch of parties with helmets and axes on their way up to Glacier Peak. Once in the forest there were several Doug-Fir and Red Cedar with massive trunks I couldn't help but gawk at. Also distracting were the blueberries coming in, as well as a patch of wild strawberries. I made it back by 11am to a full parking lot with a few cars parked on the road.