Day1 Entered in on North Fork Sauk River trail#649 off of FR 49. Started early because we were anticipating the dreaded 3 mile incline. Got on trail about 9:00am. At about 5 miles you come to the Mackinaw Shelter next to river. It's a nice place to camp or stop for lunch. The next 3 miles are a doozy, 3000ft gain in 3 miles. With full packs this was pretty challenging. The trial takes you to the PCT junction and is beautiful and well worth the pain. We continued on another 3 miles to camp. Plenty of room for several tents and water near by. Day 2 Headed out early with goal of making the 15 miles to Mica Lake in time to enjoy some sun at lake. As with most hiking its never 100% the way you anticipate. The section has many down trees which really slows you down. Everything is passable but a few required pack removal. Had a bear sighting but by the time we realized what we were seeing it scurried away. We ended up having to pull out head lamps and arrived at Mica Lake in the dark. The reward was very nice camp right next to water. Apparently this area can get very windy but we were blessed with a nice evening. Day3 Today we knew we had only 8 miles so we enjoyed the morning. The sun was out and the lake is beautiful. This was a straight 4 miles down to Mill Creek wooden bridge and then 4 back up to camp. We had been told there would be no water so we filled up at the Mill creek bridge. When we arrived there was a small bit of water. I did not take a good look at it but the Thru hikers that arrived and camped with us seemed used it and seemed to think it was great. We were up about 5575ft. The sky was clear and stars out. Day4 This was my favorite day. We had 12 miles to camp most of it was down. Absolutely beautiful section. Meadows with blueberries, flowing streams, amazing views. Towards the end of day we were in old growth forest approaching Suiattle River. We passed Vista creek camp site and made our way to the camp by the bridge, or I should say under the bridge. It is not easy to see how to get to it but if you go up on the bridge and look down you will see the camp. This is a very established camp. Nice flat spots, two fire rings and even benches. The camp is right next to river actually loud enough that it makes it a little hard to hear. Day 5 We left the PCT and took the Suiattle River trail #784 out which was about 6.5 miles. This is an easy trail through old growth next to the river. You cross a few streams and it is very pretty but now amazing view down this low. Headed out on FR #26 Side note. If you have someone coming in to meet up with you on the Suiattle trail it helps to know that there is a bridge still on the PCT with camps sites on either side and then about 20 min further once you exit PCT trail and get on Suiattle trail there is another bridge with camp sites on either side. Our pick up sadly ended up spending the night alone due to the misunderstanding.

Trip was a counter clock wise loop from North Fork Sauk to Red Pass, along the PCT and north to Sitkum Creek. The return was along 643.1 then up to the lakes and Lost Creek Ridge, then back down at Bingley Gap. I did this in 6 days, taking my time. This was late September and the weather, when not raining, was cool and cold at night. You'll want the Glacier Peak and Sloan Peak Green Trails maps (available from REI). Be sure to waterproof them. I left the State Road 49 trailhead at 2 pm in the rain in hopes that the Mackinaw Shelter would be habitable for the night. Nope. Its in very bad rotting condition. Next day's hike up to the PCT with full pack for a 3k gain was tough but the views and camping from White Pass are inspiring. There are polite signs requesting that the nice sites directly on the ridge and PCT not be used. There are a couple good sites a hundred feet or so from the trail, otherwise you'll need to drop down to the saddle below the pass. No water at the top. Lots of through hikers on the PCT heading north, wonderful hike along the ridge to Red Pass, then down a spectacular glacial valley bowl with views of Glacier Peak and down down down into the White Chuck wilderness to camp at Sitkum Creek. 643.1 has not been maintained for a couple years and is easy to loose at both ends with a lot of down falls. At the confluence of the White Chuck and Sitkum Creeks it took 1.5 hrs to cross Sitkum and find the trail up to Lake Bryne. Would not suggest this trail alone, as it is very remote. Probably Kennedy ridge, 643 is the better connection to the Lost Creek and Bryne/Round Lake trail. The Kennedy Hot Springs is interesting to muck around. The water is about 80 degrees and has formed soggy terraces with strange flora. To head east on 646, find the trail to the right of the springs after crossing the stream. There are widely spaced orange tape flags to the trail up. Another 3k climb up the Bryne Lake. It was overcast but the water was a rich clear blue color I have never seen. Simply spectacular. The best camping spot is on the rise just to the right of the clearing when the lake is reached. There were no other hikers for the two days I was up there, but passed a couple coming down on Saturday. Lost Creek Ridge to Bingley Gap is very rugged and very spectacular even in the rain. I tried to do it in a day, but it took two, but I'm slow. Spent a wet night on the ridge sharing sleep with a big root. After the interminable down hike to 49 you have 4 or 5 miles of dirt road back to the Sauk trailhead. I stowed my gear behind a trunk and started the walk. An angel at the Sloan creek trailhead gave me ride after I'd walked about a mile. Whew. big week!

We hiked to Glacier Peak Meadows 43 km round trip over 3 days. Started at 600 meters and gained 1400 meters to Red Pass at 2000 meters. Descended into the valley and camped by a the silty stream fed by the white chuck glacier. Saw many silver-back marmots along the trail and heard their shriek whistles. White-tailed ptarmigan and mule deer crossed our trail on occasion. We were mostly to ourselves except for the short section of the pacific Crest trail where we saw a dozen through hikers headed north going fast. Took a side trip to the white chuck cinder cone, remnants of a volcano. Stratovolcano Glacier Peak 3,213m can’t be seen from any highway in Washington despite it being 3,200 meters high. Under bright blue cloudless sky, from the highest point on our trek we could see Mount Rainier (4,392m high), 141 km to the south and Mount Baker (3,286m high) 90 km to the North.

If you seek solitude and mystical old growth in a mellow trail, North Fork Sauk River is probably the one for you. This trail is in the best shape of any trail of any that I have ever hiked, it is very smooth with few rocks and roots to trip you up. There is also the largest variety of mushrooms along this trail than on any other trail I've been on. There are only a few actual river access points along this trail but it's still worth the hike. At about 2 miles in is the Pilot Ridge Trail split, and at about 4 miles is the new bridge crossing of Red Creek. We hiked all the way to the Mackinaw Shelter (5.5 miles) and proceeded to line the beach with numerous cairns. The hike in took about 3 hours, we stayed at the shelter for about 1 1/2 hours, then it took just under 2 hours to get back.