Sahale Glacier Camp, North Cascades Part III
We woke during the night to the sound of ice crashing down the face of Johannesburg. A sound we'd get used to hearing over the next couple of days. As we packed up in the morning, Ethan said he wanted to carry his pack for the first time on the trip, which seemed like a good sign that he was back to normal. We've learned to keep his pack as light as possible. He usually carries his thermarest, down jacket, and some snacks. Total weight, under three pounds. If we let him take more, he's ready to give it back pretty quickly.
Sahale Glacier camp has a reputation for being a difficult hike. Over 4,000 feet and close to 7 miles one-way. There's no camping allowed anywhere in the vicinity of Cascade Pass, so stopping to camp if Ethan decided he was done wasn't an option. But I knew he could handle it just fine — as long as he wanted to. And actually, we'd just done that much elevation and mileage on Trapper Peak. We were at camp by 4PM, even with lots of breaks. The stunning scenery makes the miles fly by, and the trail follows a pretty steady grade. It felt decidedly unchallenging compared to the perceived difficulty gazing up (or looking back down at where we'd come from).
Sahale Arm is a broad mellow ridge carpeted in grasses and groundcover, all a brilliant display of color in mid September. Add the mass of Johannesburg across the valley, and views north to Eldorado, Torment, and Forbidden. It's an incredible place, and would make for fantastic camping. The restriction is a good thing. Glacier camp, in contrast, is on a barren glacial moraine just 1,000 feet above. The views change dramatically too. From looking up at the nearby summits to looking over a sea of jagged peaks and glaciers stretching to the horizon. It's hard to imagine a better view, despite experiencing it cloaked in a smokey haze.
I'd been slightly concerned about water, since the arm appeared dry. But even after the unusually dry summer there were trickles of water on the switchbacks up to the pass, and a small stream on the upper end of the arm. We had dinner on the rocks by the small creek at the foot of the glacier, and watched the light from the lowering sun play on the peaks. We had the entire place to ourselves. Looking up at the summit of Sahale, a little over 1,000 feet above camp, I felt dissappointed we hadn't come prepared to climb. A short and straigtforward glacier crossing separated us from the rocky summit scramble. A couple of hours away. Next time.
The camp consists of a few prime sites, and a dozen or so more flattish spots, each protected to varrying degrees by stone walls. We picked the site with the best combination of views, wind protection, and space. We'd brought the SuperMid, and at nearly 9 feet square, it barely fit within the walls of the wind break. After fooling around with it a bit we determined that there wasn't enough space for a solid pitch, and Linette agreed to cowboy camping (my preference for the conditions). We spread out under the stars at dusk, mostly protected from the stiff breeze that had picked up.
Once it got really dark I gazed at the stars thru the binoculars. I'd pick out a lone star, and countless others would appear around it that couldn't be seen with the naked eye. We awoke at dawn, and enjoyed the twilight and a stunning sunrise. I generally find mountain sunsets to put on a better display of light and color than sunrises — although I might be biased since I've never been great at alpine starts. Regardless, this sunrise was better than the sunset (which was pretty good).
Two people had rolled in to one of the other sites at dusk, but we hardly saw them. The Cascade Pass area is known for overcrowding, yet we only saw six or eight people total beyond the Pass, and a dozen or so below. Our midweek mid-September planning couldn't have worked out better.
Linette and Ethan got a head start on the descent, and I lingered, not ready to give up the views or the solitude. The hike out was also without difficulty. Hikers at the pass said a bear was grazing on berries just down the trail, but it was gone by the time we got there. Pretty soon we were driving back down the Cascade River road, and on our way to the east side of the mountains to see Liberty Bell and the Early Winters Spires, among other sights.