Forum Index > Trip Reports > S Fk Skok Rv to Sundown Pass, 7/5 - 7/6
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Valleyboy
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PostSat Jul 08, 2006 3:17 pm 
Well, I ended up doing this one solo and I'm actually glad for that. It was a very refreshing break from the mindless temp jobs that have been dominating my summer. I noticed that Phil does a great job documenting this trail in his trip report from earlier this year, so I'll just stick my own highlights and impressions here. Photos may come later, if I can get to a scanner. I left Bellingham at 5 in the morning on Wednesday and was on 101 by 8:30-ish. Morning rush hour wasn't so bad as I had expected it to be. FS Road 23 has to be one of the nicest FS roads I have ever driven on. It's not steep, is well-graded, and has very few potholes. Yes, there is some cracking and slumping, but it looks like it will take really heavy rains to damage this road further. FS 2361 is also nice - there's one area that has suffered a small rockslide, but it's nothing you can't drive around. When I got to the trailhead I noticed a party of seven with a toddler, who started out just as I was parking. They indicated in the register that they were dayhiking for Sundown Lake, which gave me pause. But I passed them headed back about two miles in, and they told me "Oh, that's just the direction we were headed in." The weather was beautiful this first day out. There were morning clouds which broke by 10, and gave way to blue skies and sunshine. The first four miles of the trail are easy, and they pass some truly amazing old growth. Whenever I pass an exceptionally large old growth tree, I look up to see if the tree is still alive. For me, when I look up and see a towering behemoth still topped with green, it is really awe-inspiring. I was at the ford across Startup Creek just before noon. I took a leisurely lunch break here, cooking up some TVP and cous-cous on my popcan stove. Yum. I found a footlog to cross on just downstream from the trail, so I didn't have to soak my boots. After the ford, it is my understanding that the trail becomes the Sundown Pass trail. I really got a work-out ascending this ridge, and there is plentiful blow-down to hop over, making this trail a veritable obstacle course. There are beautiful peak-a-boo views of the valley below, though. I reached the national park boundary around 1:30. The nice trail gives way to a wide boot-track of roots and rocks. Camp Riley was a welcome sight, as this was my destination for the day. This is a really nice place to camp, probably one of the nicest places I've overnighted. There is a flat place to pitch a tent, with no roots sticking up, underneath some tall firs and hemlocks. The firepit seems overlarge, and the abundant dry wood in the area seems to invite pyromania. Since the camp is under 3500 feet (I think it's ~3000) I built a small fire and let a log smolder, just to keep the skeeters away, which were abundant. I hung my bear "wire" (i.e. parachute cord) on the other side fo the tiny trickle which is the camp's only water source. Probably the best bear wire I'd ever hung. One of my favorite things about camping is the sense of accomplishment you get from "camp chores." Even though hanging food is a mundane task, it requires ingenuity, skill with rope, a basic knowledge of physics, etc. The meadowland around Camp Riley is picturesque but swampy, and it swallows the path completely. If you angle northeast you'll find it in the trees again, though. I did some exploring after setting up camp. There seems to be a mama grouse with a nest nearby, and she let me know that my passing through the area wasn't appreciated. I think it was a ruffed grouse and not a blue? I can't quite tell the difference yet. I slept really well that night, without incident. In the morning I woke up to the sight of two female elk grazing on the hillside above my camp, about 200 - 300 yards away. Lucky me! It was overcast, and I hoped that the weather would follow the same trend as yesterday, so I packed my daypack and set out for Lake Sundown. Unfortunately, the further I traveled, the worse the weather got. There was snow on the trail and I consulted my map and compass a few times to stay on track. It began to rain and the breeze started to pick up. I donned my rain gear, still hoping for that breeze to push the clouds on through. When I reached the pass everything was socked in, and I could barely see the hilltops on the ridge ahead. I was started to get cold and hungry, so I scarfed two Clif bars and headed back. I decided this rain business was no fun by myself, with no company to pass the time with, so I packed up camp and headed back down to my car. This was around 2. The hike up to Sundown Pass meant that I was heading down with less energy than I started up with, and the rain made sections of the trail quite slippery. The rain broke in the valley and then it was just overcast. I was quite footsore by the time I hit the old roadbed, and moving slow. I encountered no one on the trail on the way back. Reached ye olde trusty Jeep around 6 pm, and drove up to the Hungry Bear Cafe for their delicious Scatter Platter. Mmmm, grease! All in all, it was a wonderful trip. The meadows above the Skok are really cool, and the beauty and solitude I found here was awesome! Maybe I'll do it again later in the season, when the snow has had more time to melt.

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Phil
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PostSat Jul 08, 2006 8:07 pm 
So you started at Lower south fork skok, it sounds like?

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Valleyboy
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PostSat Jul 08, 2006 10:33 pm 
No, I started at the upper trailhead around 9:45 am. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

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Phil
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PostSun Jul 09, 2006 9:16 pm 
Well, that's some sweet hiking to be sure. First part of lower south fork is cool, but it wears thin soon afgter that, I'm afraid to say, so I think your route was best way to go. I'm surprised it is still fairly wintery up there

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