Our second hike in the North Cascades was Sauk Mountain, a short but steep 3.2 mile climb through alpine meadows to a rocky summit with views deep into the North Cascades.

Our early morning start time helped us avoid the crowds, but introduced us to the vicious mosquito population. We couldn’t stop for even a minute without being eaten alive, and they didn’t even disappear as we got higher in elevation. Once again the wildflowers were everywhere and it was a beautiful trail.

It didn’t take us much more than an hour to reach the summit, and it was spectacular!

We could see jagged, snow-covered mountain tops off in the distance, rounded, green mountains nearby, and we had a gorgeous view of Mt. Baker looming over the whole range. It’s shocking how little attention this park gets but understandable since every great view like this takes some effort to get to.

Temperatures were rising as the sun got higher so we made our way quickly down the mountain and back to the safety of the rental truck. The mosquitos were relentless, and even in the hot sun they were still trying to feed on us.

Since we had the rest of the day with no plans, we decided to go for a swim in nearby Lake Shannon. This beautiful reservoir is around 7.5 miles long, and is perfect for swimming on a hot summer day. The water was icy cold but the views were incredible.