Not adequately tuckered by an ascent of The Three Dicks in the first half of the weekend, I called up my buddy Marco and asked him to help tire me out. We set our sights on a quick hike of the Pilot Ridge Loop, a classic backpacking lollipop in the Glacier Peak Wilderness. The hike stays up high along the ridgetops for most of its length, and I was excited to go light and get some miles under our feet, while strolling through meadows with flowers and great views.
We left Seattle at a civilized hour on Sunday morning and rattled up the road to the North Fork Sauk Trailhead, then cruised through beautiful forest before powering up the switchbacks to the intersection with the PCT near White Pass. The meadows along the ridges are gorgeous, and as we worked our way south on the PCT, the views just kept getting better.
Marco on the PCT, the trail itself not visible through all the Hellebore. White Mountain above at left, and the very summit of Glacier Peak poking out at right.
Marco and flowers on the PCT south of White Pass.
After a few hours of pleasant romping, we reached Dishpan Gap, where we left the PCT and began climbing up towards Pt. 6562, where we got our first views of Blue Lake and Johnson Mountain, our tentative sunset viewpoint. Blue Lake was gorgeous, tucked in a steep-sided basin, and Marco even took a quick dip before we grabbed some water and headed up Johnson Mountain.
Descending towards Blue Lake.
Marco taking a cheeky dip to cool off before heading up Johnson.
An hour or so before sunset, the light got absolutely gorgeous, and we had a grand time snapping countless pictures from the site of the old fire lookout (built in 1939 and apparently abandoned in 1959). Just before sunset, we started slowly making our way back down the trail, photographing flowers and meadows. The light faded as we continued a bit further along the Pilot Ridge trail, but it was one of those magical evenings where the color seems to linger on the clouds forever. Absolutely stunning. Eventually, though, we pulled out our headlamps to find a pleasant campsite just off the trail, and we tucked in for the night.
Pilot Ridge backlit with sunbeams. Bedal at left, with Three Fingers just to the right further away.
The sun setting just behind Sloan Peak, in a panorama from the summit of Johnson Mountain. Bedal and Pugh are the next major summits to the right of Sloan, with Whitechuck peaking out from behind Painted Mountain, and Mount Baker to the right.
Evening light on the slopes above Blue Lake.
Marco heading down the Johnson Mountain trail beneath a magical sunset.
Enjoying the flowers and pink sky on the way down Johnson.
Flowers below Johnson Mountain.
Flowers blowing in the wind in a long exposure at dusk.
Sloan Peak silhouetted against a glowing skyline during a sunset that seemed to last forever.
It was dark enough for us to pull headlamps out as we looked for a campsite, but the clouds still glowed orange.
After a cozy night, we got up before dawn and packed up camp for a quick departure. As the sun came up, we photographed another lovely sunrise, with beautiful Asters and other flowers and views of Glacier Peak.
Glacier Peak above White Mountain in the distance, with Asters and Hellebore in the foreground.
Morning light on Three Fingers, peaking out above the saddle between Sloan and Bedal.
Sloan and Pugh getting in on the sunrise action, with Three Fingers and Whitehorse in the distance.
Morning sunlight bathing Pilot Ridge, with Glacier Peak looking dry and dusty in the shade to the right.
We slammed a quick breakfast, then hopped back on the trail and continued through miles of beautiful meadows, before finally dropping off Pilot Ridge and descending back into the North Fork Sauk valley, finally crossing the river and jogging the last little bit back to the trailhead by 10am, before heading straight into work. A great way to start the week!