June 2, 2007
On a beautiful Saturday morning we set off towards Darrington and the Mountain Loop Highway, in the Northern Cascades. We'd decided to try a hike, and Tim had found what looked like a good one - the Old Sauk Trail. "It's like walking through a rainforest" said all the reports and better than that, it was suitable for children and seniors. That was good enough for us and off we went.

Silly me, I assumed that 3 miles meant a loop trail, so we ended up walking much more than that as it was 3 miles to the end, then 3 miles back. Nevertheless, we both made it. After lunch we took a jaunt down the north part of the Mountain Loop Highway before heading back to Seattle.
 
 
On the way to Darrington we had a wonderful look at Whitehorse Mountain, framed by evergreens and colorful Scotch Broom plant.
 
 
Old Sauk Trail wound among huge old-growth trees, dripping with moss and large beds of ferns and tiny plants. We could hear (and occasionally see) the rushing Sauk River.
 
 
Here I am hugging a tree.
 
 
Bright sunlight filtered in, highlighting the lush growth.
 
 
Parts of the trail were thickly carpeted with Bunchberry plants.
 
 
This might be called the Queen's Cup, but I'm not sure about that.
 
 
I'm always a sucker for a fun-gi!
 
 
The winding trail was very beautiful, and the moss made it seem eerie at times.
 
 
Little plants grew everywhere, even in a rotting old log.
 
 
Fungi grew in odd places too.
 
 
Here and there was a splash of color.
 
 
And everywhere - ferns, gorgeous green ferns.
 
 
From time to time we had a peek at the Sauk River.
 
 
I think this is a Serviceberry.
 
 
From White Chuck lookout on Mountain Loop Highway we saw White Chuck Mountain.
 
 
And on the way home, we had another look at Whitehorse Mountain.
 
 
One last look at it.
It was a very enjoyable trip today.

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