Arrived at the trailhead late Thursday night and stayed at Sloan Creek campground overnight. Road is passable but not enjoyable :/

On Friday hiked to Mackinaw shelter first (about 6 miles). Fairly flat with some ups and downs. Old growth forest, roaring river nearby, tiny streams and berry aroma in the air. Really enjoyed this part. Take a break at Red Creek!

Mackinaw Shelter is no more since at 2017 (?), but it's still a landmark, marking a nice lunch spot or a destination for an overnight camp. From here you can either stay the night, turn back and return to the trailhead, or hike all the way up to White Pass.

If you are fat and in terrible shape like myself, this 3000+ ft ascent won't kill you, probably. But you'd seriously consider your life choices by the time it's too late to turn around :) The trail uphill is rocky and requires a lot of attention. There virtually no water until the very last stretch so plan accordingly (refill at Mackinaw shelter!). Bathroom spots are very limited to say the least, so again, plan accordingly.

At White Pass, there's a ton of awesome tent sites. This camp is very popular with climbers and hardcore hikers, so it's not surprising to see a steady stream of 20-30 people arriving there throughout Saturday morning.

All in all, loved this hike, will definitely do it again!

I headed out on the Mountain Loop Hwy and FS49 (Cadet Creek Road on old maps) for a 3-day loop via the Bald Eagle Mountain Trail, PCT and North Fork Sauk River Trail.

The road is rough but drivable for any car as long as you watch the potholes. I came in from the Granite Falls side and found the unpaved section of the Mtn Loop Hwy to be worse than FS49. The North Fork Sauk TH was packed when I arrived Sunday around 10am. I skipped it and parked at the Bald Eagle TH 3 miles further down the road, which only had 3 other cars parked.

The Bald Eagle Trail is one of my favorites. It is overgrown in many places but always easy to follow. There are a few blow-downs but only one requires scrambling over. There are a few good campsites as you ascend, starting at Curry Gap. I only saw two people all day, camped at another lovely site about halfway to June Mountain. Water is abundant along the lower trail but becomes scarce higher up. The entire area from June Mountain to the Blue Lakes and along the Bald Eagle Trail to Dishpan Gap is dry. There are a few snowmelt puddles to filter from but they will likely be gone in the next couple of weeks. I camped on June Mountain the first night. The moon was so bright I didn’t even bother with my headlamp. The “campsite” on June is more of a bivy spot: a tiny patch of dirt in the meadow with a little fire ring beside it. If you are visiting this area as part of a larger party, or if you have a larger footprint when you camp, I would suggest not camping where I did. There are some nice sites past June Mtn where the Bald Eagle Trail meets the Pilot Ridge Trail that are big enough for tents.

I broke camp in the morning and headed for Dishpan Gap. My original plan was to do the Blue Lake Loop and head out Pilot Ridge, but I would have finished in two days and I wanted more meadows. I took the Bald Eagle Trail to Dishpan, skipping Blue Lake and the High Route, and hiked the PCT north to Red Pass. There are a few lingering snowfields to cross on the Bald Eagle that may require traction. The slope is not steep though, so I chose to cross awkwardly without spikes. The PCT has water, but sources are spread out, so take advantage of each one as you pass. Holy guacamole, that section of the Bald Eagle and PCT are really something. Flowers. Marmots. Eagles. Mountains. Meadows. Joy. Freedom. More flowers. I only saw four people all day: 2 thru-hikers along the trail and 2 more at White Pass.

I got to Red Pass and took a break. It was still early afternoon so I decided to continue down to Glacier Peak Meadows and find a campsite down yonder. There are leftover snowfields on the north side of the pass but they are easily avoided or crossed. I found a sweet little spot down by the cinder cone and made camp. I don’t think I technically made it to the official Glacier Peak Meadows area, but I was close. I scrambled the cone and explored around a bit, but the best part was just sitting and soaking in all the colossal scenery. The second night was bright like the first, and Glacier had a little tantrum, hurling strong winds and thick clouds down on the basin. The wind kept changing directions, and I was afraid my tarp would be blown away or shredded apart. Lucky for me though, the mountain proved unable to dislodge me from my awesome campsite.

I woke before dawn and quickly packed. My aim was to get back up to Red Pass for some dawn photos. I made it to the pass just as the sun rose and snapped some great pics of Glacier and Sloan Peak. After breakfast at the pass, I headed back along the PCT to the North Fork Sauk River Trail and took it back to the trailhead, road, and eventually my car. The work that was done on the switchbacks last year really improved things! The trail is much less eroded and safer to hike than it used to be. Past Mackinaw Rubble Hea- I mean, Shelter, the trail is darn near perfect all the way out. WTA and others work out here all the time and it shows. I passed many parties as I headed down; most were climbers. Two groups were doing the White Pass/Pilot Ridge Loop, and one was headed to Glacier Peak Meadows. I checked out the river crossing at the junction with the Pilot Ridge Trail and it looks very doable. My brother did it last week as part of a trail run and he said it was fine. There is a log to cross on and the water is not too deep. I can’t speak as to the current conditions of Pilot Ridge, but I’ve done it before and I will say only this: planning on doing the White Pass/Pilot Loop? Clockwise. For the love of God, clockwise. Hiking UP Pilot Ridge makes the North Fork Sauk switchbacks seem like a pleasant afternoon stroll.

In all, this was a grand and glorious 3-day loop, which I hope to repeat in the future. I love this area for many reasons, but among them is flexibility. There are so many trails and loop options that you can change your route on a whim if you want to. Oh, and I forgot to mention the bugs. You will definitely need repellent, but the bugs are not bad everywhere and they tend to come and go. I only used my DEET lotion the first day.

Summary: RT: ~36 miles w/~7k gain took it easy averaged like 11 miles/day

“He loved mountains, or he had loved the thought of them marching on the edge of stories brought from far away; but now he was borne down by the insupportable weight of Middle-earth. He longed to shut out the immensity in a quiet room by a fire.”

-J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Return of the King"

Quick report just to fill in details on snow.

We went up the N Sauk River on Thursday night after work, staying at Mackinaw.  We took it slow and easy from there, staying Friday at Lake Sally Ann, Saturday at Pear Lake, and Sunday at Lake Janus.

The PCT between White Pass and Stevens Pass has intermittent snow but nothing difficult.  We had microspikes but never used them.  Lake Sally Ann is partly frozen and has a lot of snow, limiting camp sites.

Bugs were worst at Lake Janus but were nowhere near the worst I've ever seen.

That's it.  Short and sweet.  In 5 weeks we go back to complete Section K between Rainy Pass and White Pass.

Arrived at the North Fork Sauk TH around 1130 on Friday morning and the parking lot was packed. There is a toilet at the TH if needed. The North Fork Sauk trail is in good shape and starts out mild following the river.  After about mile 5.5 you head up some switch backs which will make you sweat. From the top you intersect with the PCT and head south towards White Pass camp.  It is beautiful! Wild flowers out and bright green meadows, just lovely.  Plenty of camp space at White Pass, two toilets.  This is a spot where a lot were camping to climb Glacier Peak as well. 

Day 2 we took a short jont without packs back N on PCT to climb up Red Pass to get a look at Glacier Peak; Great views, lots of snow in the basins there.  Then headed S on PCT towards Dishpan Gap. The trail in good shape, some snow fields to cross (not difficult), but these should be melted off in a week I would guess in this sun. This part of the PCT is a nice mild hike, very nice.  From Dishpan we took the trail towards Blue Lakes.  We opted to take the longer route to the lakes instead of the high route to upper Blue lake because we were unsure of how sketchy the snow would be to cross up there.  The trail around adds about 4 miles and was difficult to find at times due to snow.  But it is all passible. We camped at lower Blue lake and had the camp to ourselves.  Bugs were out in full force.  

Next day we headed out on the Pilot Ridge Trail.  Grab water at the lake, because there is no reliable water until you get down to the river. This a beautiful ridge walk with views on both sides.  It was hot out, but fortunately once you get past the open ridge most of the hike out is shaded.  The last bit of down back to the North Fork Sauk trail is a punishing few miles and will make you think you need knee replacements.  This was a beautiful loop hike with plenty of views, wild life (saw numerous marmots and bear) and wildflowers. 

Did a one-night trip to White Pass via the North fork Sauk River trail. We didn't actually do the 'pilot ridge loop'. 

Day 1: Arrived at the trailhead at 11:00am, parking area was packed but we found a spot fairly close to the trailhead. Began hiking a few minutes later and passed Mackinaw Shelter at 1:00pm (~5 miles from the TH). This part of the trail is mostly flat. There are some really impressive old-growth trees in this forest! The hike became much more arduous after this point. It was blazing hot and very humid too. Made it to White Pass at 4:30-5:00pm. There are tons of wildflowers and marmots all around. There were roughly 10 other groups camped near the ridge, most of whom had climbed or were climbing Glacier. We set up camp then hiked almost to Glacier Gap (you need ice-axe and crampons to get over the gap right now). Then we hiked to Red Pass for sunset. Unfortunately, Glacier Peak stayed in hiding that day but there were plenty of other neat views!

Day 2: Left camp at 9:00am. Day 2 was even hotter than Day 1. We hiked down the way we came up and arrived back at the car at 1:00pm.