5-24-15
After
a day of hiking and
barbecuing in Darrington we headed home on Sunday. On the way we
squeezed in another couple of hikes. I had never stopped at the Harold
Engles Cedars Trail. There is only room for two or three cars. That was
our first stop. Kim has been there many times and she led the tour.
Part of the trail has been taken by the NF Sauk River. What remains is
short but passes some huge trees and goes over to the river. Right off
the road is one o the biggest trees. This cedar is enormous. We went a
short way to a spot surrounded by big trees. Lots of good photo
opportunities.
There were also some huge wild ginger plants. Most of them were flowering. The flower is under the leaves and you have to go looking to see them. Very strange looking. We also saw some trillium, columbine, bluebells, Salmonberry, bleeding hearts, and more in bloom. The hike is very short but the trees are very big. Next we headed down the road to the NF Sauk Trail. I was afraid that the parking lot would be full on a three day weekend. It is too early to hike to White Pass in May. Except this may it might not be. Not much snow at all.
When I have hiked this trail it has been either on a long day trip up Pilot Ridge or a multi day backpacking trip to Pilot Ridge and White Pass. This time distance and speed were not part of the plan. We went very slow and took in all that I have missed while hiking fast up or down this valley. And there is a lot to see. A short way in we went off trail to a big bog of skunk cabbage. No blooms yet but some big leaves. The water was bright orange providing a great contrast with the bright green leaves.
We found lots of mushrooms and other fungus. Early season wildflowers were in bloom. Among them were spring beauty, bleeding hearts, star flowers, a couple asters, a patch of lupine, a bunch of bunchberries, and more. We met several groups coming out. No snow seen by one group that went up to near the PCT before running out of time. Mostly we had a lot of solitude on what is a very busy trail, especially in the summer. The day was mostly overcast but dry. We only went in a mile or so but we took a lot of time enjoying the deep dark forest.
I'm sure I'll be back for more backpacking on this trail but I really enjoyed a rare slow paced day enjoying the forest not racing for the high country. We stopped at a good sized creek for lunch and headed out. Out trip back was much faster than the hike in. The drive back to Seattle was easy as the middle day of the three day weekend had few folks out on the road. It was a fun weekend along the Mountain Loop.
Click on thumbnails to get
larger pictures.
Trips - 2015
Home
There were also some huge wild ginger plants. Most of them were flowering. The flower is under the leaves and you have to go looking to see them. Very strange looking. We also saw some trillium, columbine, bluebells, Salmonberry, bleeding hearts, and more in bloom. The hike is very short but the trees are very big. Next we headed down the road to the NF Sauk Trail. I was afraid that the parking lot would be full on a three day weekend. It is too early to hike to White Pass in May. Except this may it might not be. Not much snow at all.
When I have hiked this trail it has been either on a long day trip up Pilot Ridge or a multi day backpacking trip to Pilot Ridge and White Pass. This time distance and speed were not part of the plan. We went very slow and took in all that I have missed while hiking fast up or down this valley. And there is a lot to see. A short way in we went off trail to a big bog of skunk cabbage. No blooms yet but some big leaves. The water was bright orange providing a great contrast with the bright green leaves.
We found lots of mushrooms and other fungus. Early season wildflowers were in bloom. Among them were spring beauty, bleeding hearts, star flowers, a couple asters, a patch of lupine, a bunch of bunchberries, and more. We met several groups coming out. No snow seen by one group that went up to near the PCT before running out of time. Mostly we had a lot of solitude on what is a very busy trail, especially in the summer. The day was mostly overcast but dry. We only went in a mile or so but we took a lot of time enjoying the deep dark forest.
I'm sure I'll be back for more backpacking on this trail but I really enjoyed a rare slow paced day enjoying the forest not racing for the high country. We stopped at a good sized creek for lunch and headed out. Out trip back was much faster than the hike in. The drive back to Seattle was easy as the middle day of the three day weekend had few folks out on the road. It was a fun weekend along the Mountain Loop.
 Harold Engles Trail |
 First Big Cedar |
 Mushroom |
 Big Wild Ginger Leaves |
 Many Mossy Branches |
 One Huge Cedar |
 NF Sauk River |
 Bluebells |
 Reaching For The Sky |
 Opening Flower |
 Orange & Green |
 Kim & Skunk Cabbage |
 Wilderness Boundary |
 Devil's Club |
 Great Lighting |
 Spring Beauty |
 Star Flower |
 Bleeding Heart |
 Wild Ginger |
 Glowing Mushroom |
 False Solomon's Seal |
 Many Flowers |
 Turned Around At Creek |
 Lots Of Green |
Trips - 2015
Home