When we arrived at the trailhead there was one other van in the parking lot but it was a long while before we even saw other people on the trail. The book (Day Hiking the North Cascades by Craig Romano) describes the hike as a 3 star, with a difficulty of a 1. The Sauk River is a tributary of the Skagit and a major source for Salmon runs here in Washington State. There are also large populations of bald eagles. We went at the wrong time of year to really see anything like what was described, unfortunate, but certainly motivation to return!
The day was pretty clear when we set out from Everett. We had some great views of Glacier Peak.
Like before, the trees were a mossy green and just rich in color.
Eric stares up at the canopy.
The trail itself was excellent to walk on. Where it was clear it was a softer, almost springy and very easy to walk along. We did hit rougher patches further in where trees had fallen and still had some snow cover and had to hunt for the trail, but for the most part, it was okay. It's very obvious the trail isn't maintained as well as it could be.
The trail takes you out to one of the forks of the river, slower moving and not as wide, but boulder strewn. There are occasional places where you can scramble down the bank to reach the river stones.
The water here looked curiously like what you find in a spring fed area so we were intrigued by this particular location. We later did end up finding a small bubbling spring. I have video of it but no good pictures.
I also liked the large boulder....
The water was perfectly still and crystal clear with a tinge that makes it look spring fed.
Rust colored bacteria? (I have a degree in Microbiology and the little things like this really intrigue me )
We found rabbit prints in the frozen riverbank.
Looking downstream.
Frozen moss on one of the boulders. It was absolutely gorgeous to see.
Mountain peaks in the distance.
Human footprints!
The first of many downed trees along the path. This was one of the easier ones to navigate.
The river is now whole.
Looking across to the opposite bank.
Red Cedars
The sun was shining through the canopy. I thought it was gorgeous. You have to understand, though, that you don't have this kind of country in Florida, or even in Michigan and Connecticut (where Eric and I grew up, respectively). The scenery is so impressive to us.
There are lots of logs and trees along and in the river as you hike along. The trail pretty much hugs the river bank for the entire portion. It doesn't have much in the way of elevation gain but as I mentioned before, the downed trees makes scrambling a bit of a challenge.
An uprooted tree.
Eric tries to find the trail.
The trail goes through here. Can you see it? I certainly can't.
An interesting plant we saw on the trail. It was like a grass but looked like a skinny version of bamboo.
Whispy snow.
We had brought sandwiches for lunch and were planning on finding a spot where we could sit and eat partway through the hike. This was the spot we chose. We sat on a frozen tree trunk (brrr! numb butt!) and had sandwiches, being very careful to take all of our trash back out with us. The clouds were sinking in over the river. Made for gorgeous views.
The little side puddles were still as could be and offered some nice mirror images.
You can see the nice trail surface. Slightly spongy and bouncy for great hiking. And not soggy either, it was firm enough, it felt magical just walking along.
We found an old fire site.
And a place where someone had been practicing their aim....
And concrete road barriers covered in moss.
Given the craziness of the trail, we opted to hike back along the road. The hike has two trailheads along the mountain loop highway and the hike is basically from one point and back again, unless you have someone pick you up at the other trailhead. We actually didn't make it to the other trailhead as there was a stream with a crossing that looked like we'd be too wet if we crossed. I'd want to push through in the summer though.
But we got some nice mountain views through the trees as we hiked along the road.
And driving home we had views of the Olympics and the setting sun. Gorgeous.
Until next time!
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