SOURDOUGH
SUNSHINE AND SAUK SUNSET
We
woke to overcast skies. Sigh. It didn’t last this time though. During breakfast, the clouds began to break
up. It started with a few sucker holes,
but soon the blue sky was widespread.
Woohoo! We packed up and drove
back into the heart of the park. My plan
for the day was a long hike up Sourdough Mountain. It would require climbing 5,100’ in 5 1/2
miles, but I was ready for it. Christy’s
ankle wasn’t though. While I was hiking
up the mountain, she would hike a gentle trail along the lake directly
below. Her goal was a lodge on the shore
of Ross Lake. From there she might be
able to rent a kayak or take a boat cruise.
Christy
dropped me off in the community of Diablo.
There is a small “town” here centered around the hydroelectric power
plant below Diablo Lake. The hike up
Sourdough Mountain was a long, steep climb in heavy forest. The first 4 miles were a grind where I
focused on maintaining a steady 2 mph pace despite the grade. The final mile and a half was a glorious
stroll through alpine meadows full of blooming wildflowers, with mind blowing
views of the achingly blue Diablo Lake at the base of jagged, glacier encrusted
peaks. Getting up here is hard work, but
it is worth the effort, particularly on a sunny day after a couple of days of
rain and fog.
I
reached the lookout on the summit in time for lunch. Despite the grueling hike, it was a
moderately busy place. I hiked over to a
rock outcrop with a great view up Ross Lake and had lunch there. The lake is long and narrow, squeezed between
mountains like a Scottish Loch. It
starts up into Canada, and the farthest mountains in view were all across the
border. Back to the northwest were even
more stunning mountains. Those were the
peaks of the Pickett Range. That might
be the wildest portion of one of America’s wildest parks.
I
lounged as long as I could before starting back down. I made great time on the descent, and reached
the parking area shortly after Christy arrived.
We left the park and headed back west, towards Baker Lake. We stopped at Cascadian Farms for blueberry
ice cream before continuing into the small town of Rockport. It was a Sunday afternoon, but we were still
lucky to get one of the last tent sites in Howard Miller Park on the Skagit
River. It’s a nice little park, though
it mostly caters to R.V.s. Still, the
tent sites are in a grassy, wooded glade near the river, and the campground has
showers. The price is reasonable, too. I’d definitely stay there again.
After
setting up camp, we had a decision to make – eat dinner and relax by the river,
or do an evening hike? I’d already hiked
11 miles and climbed 5,100’, and since breakfast I’d only eaten a peanut butter
and jelly sandwich, some dried fruit and nuts, and the previously mentioned ice
cream. Dinner would’ve been
sensible. On the other hand, Sauk
Mountain was directly above our campground, and it promised to be a spectacular
spot for sunset. That peak was high on
my priority list, and this was our only chance.
We wouldn’t have time on Monday, and we wouldn’t come back this way.
The
road up to the trailhead on the flank of Sauk Mountain sauked. To say that it had a lot of potholes would be
an understatement. It would be more
accurate to say that it was in fact mostly potholes. We were almost to the trailhead when we
reached a stretch that was so washed out that we didn’t think the rental car
could handle it. We pulled off on the
shoulder and started the hike from there.
I felt a bit of urgency, as we had more than 2 miles to go, and I really
wanted to reach the summit in time for sunset.
We
walked up the so-called road to the parking area, which was nice yet
unattainable for normal cars. There is
even a picnic table here. From there,
Christy and I began the steep hike to the summit. She wanted to try this one, as she was tired
of sitting out all of these great hikes.
Her ankle was improving rapidly, and she thought she could handle a 5
mile round trip hike.
The
first 2/3 of the climb was on an eroded trail that was actually dangerous in
places due to people cutting switchbacks.
We really had to watch our footing in places to keep from tumbling down
a manmade gully. The switchbacks finally
ended, and we followed a decent trail around the south and east sides of the
mountain. Along here, we were treated to
spectacular views of the Skagit River valley and a jumble of glaciated
peaks. Most notable were Glacier Peak to
the southeast and mighty Mount Rainier to the south. It’s pretty incredible that we could see that
mountain, which is most of the way across Washington State!
Christy
decided to head back from there, as she was concerned about descending the
treacherous parts of the trail in the dark.
I thought that not being able to see those drop-offs might be a good
thing. I continued on, passing a few
snowfields and scrambling over some rocks.
I reached the summit just as a mother and daughter were leaving. I arrived shortly before sunset, in plenty of
time to enjoy the views of Mount Baker, Mount Shuksan,
the Pickett Range, and more impressive mountains to the west. I had a celebratory beer there too, having
just climbed 6,500’ in a single day – a new record for me. That beer reminded me that I’d basically
eaten nothing (other than ice cream) since breakfast. I was a bit light headed on the first part of
the descent. Fortunately I have a
powerful headlamp, which helped me find my way down.
I
met Christy at the trailhead. Then I ran
down to the car and got everything we needed to cook dinner. We cooked and ate jambalaya at the picnic
table right there at the trailhead.
After eating we headed back to camp.
We rolled back into the campground at midnight and crashed.
Continue reading about our trip as I hike solo on the High Divide and Christy and I hike to the Coleman Glacier on Mount Baker.
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