DARRINGTON — A section of the North Fork Sauk Trail outside of Darrington will be closed from Wednesday through Aug. 3. It’s scheduled to reopen on the morning of Aug. 4.
The trail will be closed from mile 5 at the Mackinaw shelter to the junction with the Pacific Crest Trail.
In addition to the PCT, the trail provides access to climbing routes on Glacier Peak.
Forest Service crews will be doing blasting work on the Pacific Crest Trail between the junction with the Sauk trail and Red Pass. The PCT passes above the Sauk trail and the closure is to protect people from falling rocks and debris.
The PCT work is necessary because the section of trail is on a steep hillside and it’s become extremely narrow. It’s unpleasant for hikers and impassable for horses. PCT hikers should be prepared for intermittent trail closures of up to an hour during the work.
The blasting work will widen the PCT, making it accessible to horses again. In addition to re-opening the area to equestrians, it will also allow for more trail work in the future on the PCT, said Gary Paull, wilderness and trails program coordinator for the Darrington District of the Mount-Baker Snoqualmie National Forest. With the trail re-opened to equestrians, horse-supported work parties will once again be possible north of the North Fork Sauk Trail. That section of the Pacific Crest Trail has received little maintenance in past years because it was hard to access.
The re-opening of the Suiattle River Road in late 2014 and and work allowing horse access north of the North Fork Sauk will eventually allow the Forest Service to address a back-log of trail work in the area.
Jessi Loerch: 425-339-3046; jloerch@heraldnet.com.
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