Today I attempted to drive to the trailhead for the North Fork Sauk River/Red Mountain trail. On my way up the Mountain Loop (from Darrington), I noticed that the Sauk was running very high. I turned up FS 49 and made it within 1-2 miles of the trailhead. As I was driving, I crossed two different sections of road that were underwater. At the time, it was no problem to get my Highlander through the water. However, I knew it would be raining hard all day, and I wasn't sure what those crossings would look like on my way home, so I decided to turn around and try a different trail. After getting denied at the North Fork of the Sauk, I headed further up the Mtn Loop towards Barlow Pass, where I checked out the wagon road to Monte Cristo. The log that normally allows you to cross the South Fork of the Sauk (on your way to Monte Cristo) is partially submerged, and my guess is that it will be fully submerged by the end of today. Ultimately I ended up cobbling together ~8 miles by doing brief out-and-backs on the following trails: Barlow Pass, Old Government, Monte Cristo, Weeden Creek, and misc FS roads. It was dumping rain the entire time and the route wasn't exactly inspiring, but any day in the mountains is still better than a day not spent in the mountains. As I drove down the Mountain Loop towards Granite Falls, the South Fork of the Stillaguamish was also running very high. It will be interesting to see how the mountain roads fare with these weekend rains!

After two months of leaderless sloth, Geezer Patrol cracked loose all the solidified knee cartilage and ventured forth on the last hike 2014 in new territory. The ride to the trailhead consumed 2 hours but was well worth time. Unfortunately, the coming snowstorm may cause this area to be closed off as it is past the mountain loop closure gate. The trailhead at 2070' elevation is large and accommodates horse trailers. It has a privy totally devoid of TP so bring yer own. Leaving the trailhead is like entering a cathedral. One is immediately surrounded by massive cedar and fir trees causing us to once again travel at a snails pace while gazing upward instead of forward. These are some of the largest trees we have ever encountered in our travels all saved by the Glacier Peak Wilderness in 1960, four years before the Wilderness Act was passed by congress. The trail base is pretty much hard sand covered with fir needles - kinda like walking on a pillow top mattress - nice!. There are a few areas of rocky/rooty trail with minor ups and downs along the way. We only traveled to the Pilot Ridge Trail cutoff 2.7 miles in with our allotted time due to continuous stops to admire trees, solve the worlds problems and to provide update on our patrol mascot, Kate Upton. This trail intersection provides a nice lunch spot in a large campsite right on the river. You could just sit and stare at these trees all day. We picked up 650' of elevation there and back. This is a nice easy stroll along the southern flank of Red Mountain and would make a fine long hike or backpack in the summer with the cool of the high canopy and the rushing river. We must go back after the melt out next year.

Well, another better-late-than-never trip report from me. If you are into "tree therapy" as I am, do this hike. The North Fork Sauk River is an Awesome winter hike, at least this winter! The forest is phenomenal, especially within the first 5 miles. Huge old growth Western Red Cedars, Douglas firs an Western Hemlocks line the trail. There were maybe a dozen blowdowns across the trail to deal with but nothing very serious. Looking back after the first creek crossing, there is a great view of snow plastered Sloan Peak. The amazingly stout log bridge at Red Creek was very icy. We began to get into a little crusty snow in the avalanche track just before the Mackinaw Shelter, but for the most part the trail was snow free. The sun was too low this late in the season to crest Pilot ridge. There were only sunbeams for a few minutes where a notch in the ridge existed. Another great hike into Glacier Peak Wilderness in December!

I book ended my week with a second hike after visiting the Big Four Ice Caves last Sunday. This was my intended destination that day but the road was becoming treacherous due to the snow we received and I decided not to push my luck. Good thing too as the first 3 miles or so off the pavement after Barlow Pass are covered in compact snow and ice made slick by the rain a week later. Seriously, if you plan on going way back on Mountain Loop and continuing on from Barlow Pass to not attempt it without 4WD or AWD at this time. The snow/ ice mix isn't deep but it is slick and I found myself sliding a bit even crawling along in 4WD but it can be done. There was also a minor rock slide not far from Bedal but you shouldn't need too much clearance to go over it. FSR 49 had a bit of tree debris on it from recent storms and a spot trying to wash out near the trailhead but the road wasn't a hard drive. I counted just 4 vehicles off the pavement today, 2 on the Loop and 2 early on FSR 49. There was no one at the North Fork Sauk Trailhead when I arrived and I saw no one while I was out hiking. Most of my hike was dry or with a mist but it did sprinkle a few times and turned to rain just as I got back to my truck at the end of my hike. The forest canopy was drippy but did a better job of protecting me from the weather. I only made it to the Pilot Ridge cutoff today not only because of the shorter days but because conditions were deteriorating the further along I went and I wasn't dressed to tackle the increasing snow conditions. There are stretches of ice and snow along the trail but nothing to keep you going the right direction. The first major creek crossing was a bit of a challenge as there was a lot of ice covering the rocks you would use to cross the creek, I was happy to have my poles along here. There was one major blowdown just before the Pilot Ridge cutoff that was slick with snow and I skinned my shin trying to go over it the first time. This trail is always a treat with its big trees and lots of moss. It doesn't have to be a nice day to enjoy this forest walk with its remote river keeping you company most of the time. The abundant fungus that pops up here in the fall is gone now but I did see some tracks in the snow that I believe belonged to a bobcat. No sign of the kitty today but I did hear birds off and on. It was a great day for a solitary walk in the woods on one of my favorite trails.

Clearly we should have read the trip reports more carefully, and the WTA description for Red Mountain needs a good overhaul, but as is, we were pretty confused to have the trail dead-end into a band of rock cliffs with nothing like the lookout views we'd been hoping for. So. Doing a bit more research after getting home, here's the deal: the 1 mile, 700' elevation hike described here is to a spot most of us would call a view point -- it's just a little spur off the trail overlooking the Sauk River Valley and giving a glimpse of the tops of Sloan and Bedal peaks. If there was a fire lookout here, it's hard to imagine why, but just a heads-up that the WTA gets it right when they say it's not the kind of lookout you probably had in mind. And this is definitely not the top of 6975 foot Red Mountain (we clearly did not do the math either...) with the views you might see in the summit photos. The main photo on the WTA description page is misleading, as that is for the actual peak climb, not the 1 mile view point. The trail continues up above the view point, and after a few switch-backs, it forks into what look like equally well used paths, but almost immediately, both dead-end into moss-covered, steep rock. The descriptions we read later call this a class 2-3 rock climb, but to hikers with a couple of dogs and no rock climbing gear, this was a dead-end. We went back down scratching our heads and looking for a turn-off we might have missed, but no, that really was the trail. (If anyone knows of an alternate path around the rocks, please speak up! Did we miss something??) Here's what seems like more accurate info on the Red Mountain / Painted Mountain trail, but the gist is that to get to the actual summit (with its red rocks and monster views) is in the ballpark of an 8 mile round trip with almost 4900' of elevation gain and a reasonably serious rock climb in the mix: http://www.summitpost.org/painted-mountain-red-mountain/534726 Still a nice day in the woods (though mighty breezy and chilly in the midst of the visiting "Arctic Vortex"), and a view of the mighty Sloan is nuthin to sneeze at. Just not what we were expecting. The trail to the view spot is in great shape, and a huge thanks to the folks who no doubt put in a pile of work to cut those great steps into a few giant trees across the trail. The steps made them easy to get over. A visit to the raging, frosty North Fork Sauk Falls was well worth the side-trip. After considering the pros and cons, we decided against a swim.