[williswall]

"Adventure is just bad planning" (Roald Amundsen) Synopsis: As my vacation time comes to an end Cassie and I did a spur of the moment trip to Glacier Peak, only in that we had originally planned a circumnavigation but her prior foot and shoe issues precluded a trip of that length with no bail options if she ran into foot trouble. Therefore, we opted for a shorter loop trip, starting at Sloan Creek Campground and taking the North Fork Sauk trail to the Pilot Ridge trail, hitting the Blue Lake High Trail to the PCT. The plan then was to take trail 643 past the old Kennedy Hot Springs area and up onto Lost Creek Ridge trail and loop back to the road, eventually walking the 4 miles back to the vehicle on the road. This was about a 50 mile trip with 13,000' of elevation, planned for 3 days. If foot/shoe issues continued, we could always bail after White Pass by taking the N F Sauk trail back to the car for a shorter loop. The good news is that we finally found the right shoe for Cassie and foot issues were not a problem. The bad news is I made a classic mistake of not planning well. What issues could possible arise on a trip that involves all trail? Read the signs, turn left or right, no need for smaller scale maps or GPS. Day 1. A 4:30 AM departure from home had us on the trail at 7 AM, not a bad start considering the travel time. The North Fork Sauk trail is in fine condition, and we soon reached the cut off for Pilot Ridge, where an easy log crossing was found a short distance up the trail. After grinding up the switchbacks the rest of the day was spent in alpine splendor, with far reaching views only blocked by a low hanging cloud deck. One of the things I enjoy about this kind of trip is total flexibility as to where we would camp. We spent considerable time at gorgeous Blue Lake, with Cassie checking her feet, soaking in the cool water and me taking photos and video. After a little confusion as to where the trail continued, we did the steepish slog up to the pass on the Blue Lake High Trail, meeting and chatting with a group of 6 or so people at the pass. They commented on my hat (of course) and our trail shoes (it's a trail, after all) and they proceeded down to Blue Lake as we headed toward the PCT junction and Indian Pass. However, on the way there we found a perfect spot to set up camp with open views for the height of the Perseids show. We went to bed early with alarms set for midnight to get up and enjoy the show and take some long exposures. However, as soon as the sun went down so did the dewpoint, and the rest of the evening and into the next morning we found ourselves in cloud with nary a star peeping out. Slightly disappointing as last year we watched the show from Upper Lena Lake, sipping hot chocolate with some neighbors during our marmot survey. We found it hard to get up in the continual soaking but managed to get on the trail around 8 AM, much later than our original plan.

1. Starting out- N. Fork Sauk Trail

2. Pilot Ridge

3. views from Pilot Ridge

4. First views of Glacier Peak- Pilot Ridge

Pilot Ridge

Pilot Ridge2

3. views from Pilot Ridge

4. First views of Glacier Peak- Pilot Ridge

5. more Pilot Ridge views

6. foot break at Blue Lake outlet

7. Blue Lake

8. last views of Blue Lake

9. pass on Blue Lake High Trail

10. Dishpan Gap

11. pole break at Dishpan Gap

12. greenery near Meander Meadow

13. abodes- ZPacks Pocket Tarp and GG The One

14. Cassie setting up shop in The One

Day 2: Within 30 minutes or so of being on the trail the mist finally cleared and we were to enjoy a pristine cloudless day. This day can be summed up with endless expansive panoramic views, changing with corners and never disappointing. Alpine splendor indeed, and Cassie's shoes were working well with no further blister or hip problems, so everything was encouraging. The hike to White Pass, Red Pass and into the White Chuck basin was one of having to constantly stop so as not to trip while taking in the vistas. Iron was right when he told me in a PM that I might get spoiled and abandon Rainier once experiencing this terrain. Well, I'll always go back to Rainier as it is my touchstone place but this area was beautiful in a different way, as was ONP, and Cassie and I agreed that going to all 3 places for her graduation hikes (although with a modified itinerary) was indeed a splendid way to experience slices of the beautiful part of the country we are blessed to live in with such relatively easy access. We stopped on a made for break rock and made lunch below the White Chuck cinder cone, visited by a nice lady with her extremely sweet tempered pooch, who at one point put his head on Cassie's lap while she patted him. All the while White Chuck basin filled our views, begging for more panorama shots. but eventually we had to get back on the trail and descend into bugville. When we reached the camp at Sitkum creek we decided to pack it in, make a gourmet dinner, and hit the sack early so we could get an early start for our trek up the Lost Creek trail and Lake Byrne.

15. finally clearing near Indian Pass

16. entering Glacier Peak Wilderness

near White Pass

White Chuck Basin

17. B4 lunch break

18. Lupine splendor

19. never ending alpine splendor

20. PCT- gorgeous

21. PCT views

22. near Red Pass

23. Monte Cristo from Red Pass

24. entering White Chuck basin

25. bottle buzz

26. Cassie and black marmot

27. White Chuck Basin

28. crossing White Chuck River

29. Ferndale

30. rock art

31. Sitkum creek

32. my first hint

33. sleeping arrangement at Sitkum Creek

Day 3: Indeed we were up at 5, on the trail by 6 and thinking we could get that climb out of the way in the cool of the morning. Now, I won't go into too much detail on the ensuing 5 hours, but it was a classic scenario of inattention, poor planning, and over confidence in how the day would go. First problem, in the early morning light we missed the junction for trail 643...there are no signs, and the trail forks into the PCT hidden behind a nice long log. There are actually signs, as we found out later: sharpie writing on barkless logs. Anyway, we merrily went on our way and took a left on the "trail", which certainly must be the right one, as it simply said "Kennedy Hot Springs" with sharpie writing in red that read "could not find." Anyone familiar with the area knows the bonehead mistake, we took a left on the Kennedy Ridge Trail and ended up at the rubblely mess that used to be where the springs were. The last time I was in the area was prior to the 2003 floods, so I had no up to date beta on what to expect here. After more than an hour of schwacking after finding a good log crossing, I finally found the remnants of a trail. Eureeka, I must be on the Lost Creek trail so after schwacking more around further washed out sections we merrily made our way up the trail, but were wondering why it didn't start switch backing. Imagine our confusion when we reached the junction, now evident with better light and the "trail damage ahead" sign and scribbled writing on logs. Lots of "where the hell are we" and head scratching brought us to a creek crossing that, behold, looked really familiar. We had circled back to Sitkum creek, where 5 hours earlier we had departed. After some discussion we decided that going back down the trail and trying to acquire the Lost Creek trail in that bouldery mess wasn't on the docket. Mileage wise it looked to be about the same (18 or so) to go schwacking or just return to Red Pass and acquire the N F Sauk trail, which would at least take us right back to the car, so off we went at least knowing exactly where we were going. This was a good lesson for me to pay more attention in unfamiliar areas where the signage is poor and actually read the friggin' map. I just read Ree's report on coming down the Lost Creek Ridge trail to the same area and having no problems finding the Kennedy Ridge trail, which leaves me embarrassed and humbled that I could get so screwed up. Lesson learned.

34. remember this log crossing?.

35. Kennedy Creek crossing

36. where is the trail?

37. skirting washed out section of trail

38. where trail used to be

39. logs used to cross White Chuck

40. WTF

41. lemon cheesecake

42. remnants of high flow

43. Red Pass number 2

44. an actual sign!

45. N F Sauk Trail

46. hot dinner with Suluk46 TEA system

47. banana pudding top off

Epilogue: Despite my mindless and inattentive meanderings, this was a wonderful trip to cap off our graduation hikes. Most importantly, the whole foot/shoe issue was solved so Cassie's orientation hike in the Sierras next week should not be a problem. This series of hikes got our legs under us where a 25 mile day was fairly comfortable, easily trotting the last 4 miles in the dark back to the vehicle. I never had to adjust pace for Cassie and perhaps was even slow for her, so she has come into her own and is a strong girl, both physically and mentally. And this time spent was just special, as I send my daughter off to college and starting the next phase of her life. I've been so fortunate to have a teenager who actually likes to spend time with her Dad: does it get any better?

[Kim Brown]

You probably already checked the map to see that Lost Creek Ridge is on the opposite side of the Whitechuck from Kennedy Ridge and the Whitechuck and Kennedy Ridge trails. It starts in the campground out of the bouldery mess, on the SW side of the Whitechuck, signed "Lake Byrne," if you can find the campground (it's a loggy mess) and then find the sign within it (the campground is sorta destroyed and the paths are faint, but once you find the Lk Byrne trail, you're good). But yeah, the landscape is freakishly different and if you've been there before the floods (and you have) it's actually even more disorienting than if you have no vision of what it was like then. Signage wasn't poor before the floods; but since the area was wiped out, the signs that are there don't mean much. The damage is too big, and the area too wide and the trails undefined. I'm surprised there isn't flagging leading to the Lk Byrne trail.

[Kim Brown]

But no matter, it looks like a great Trip anyway

[contour5]

You turned a great trip into an adventure! Very nice TR!

[RichardJ]

Fantastic report and pics of one of my favorite areas. I love reading your's and Cassie's hikes because I have the same hiking relationship with my daughter. She is 22 years old now and still likes to hike with me even though I'm slowing down while she is getting faster. I understand how wonderful it is when a teenager wants to experience Washington's amazing outdoors with her dad.