Skagit-Sauk Reach Trail

Good morning, my friends. What a beautiful day of weather we had yesterday! It was the first really warm day of our trip. I packed both long and short-sleeved shirts, and plenty of sweatshirts. Yesterday was the first time I wore a short-sleeved shirt. We're expecting similar weather today.

So we settled on the Skagit-Sauk Reach Trail. It was listed as being five miles, but with almost no elevation gain. We ended up turning around when we reached a point where it was more overgrown than we liked. Some reviewers said there was poison ivy. We didn't see any, but it was still warning enough to discourage us from going any farther when we couldn't avoid having the plants brushing up against us.

We had a short drive to the little town of Rockport, Washington. We're seeing more fall color every day.

I regret not getting a better picture of this little structure as we sped by, but I wanted you to see the quilt block there. Maybe I'll get another chance at it.

Okay, and here we are. It's barely a wide spot in the road.

The trailhead was within the boundary of Henry Miller Steelhead County Park. After parking, I took a better look at this cabin.

Here's another angle.

This cabin was built (at a different location) by settler Tom Porter, who felled two large cedar trees and built this house with his friend, Bob Kerr. It was built with no nails or pegs. Instead a special notch called a double-dove tail secured the corners. It was insulated with moss, clay, and newspaper, and it was heated with a wood-fired cook-stove. He later married Mima Kerr and had six children with her. One of the children died here, as did Mima, who died giving birth to her seventh child. A flood in 1897 forced the family to take refuge in the loft when the river flowed through the lower level. The cabin was moved to this location in 1967.

To it's right was this "shovel-nosed canoe." With honor and thanksgiving, Salish craftsmen would fell and build these canoes. They used stone axes to shape the outer hull and narrow adz blades to shape the inside. Fire was also used to char away the wood.

It took us a while, but we walked pretty much the full length of the campground in search of the trailhead.

The first thing we noticed was this sign. I'd dearly love to see the mama bear and her cub, but it's probably just as well that we didn't.

We expected to walk alongside the Skagit River, which hosts the largest population of wintering bald eagles in the United States. They feed on the chum and coco salmon returning to the river to spawn. We didn't see any eagles, and a sign informed us they generally return at the end of October. It's also one of the most important rivers for spawning salmon, and it is the only large river system in Washing State that contains all five native salmon species: coho, chinook, sockeye, chum, and pink salmon.

We were often walking on a trail littered with the fallen leaves of big leaf maple trees.

Our shadow selves had to get down and roll around in the leaves.

There weren't a lot of blooming things along the trail, but we saw blackberries.

And snowberries.

At other times, we were walking on a wide trail of mown grass. 

And although we'd thought we would be walking beside the river, we'd walked more than a mile before we could even see it. This was the first clearing we came to.

We found a large patch of this stuff. My phone tells me it is equisetum hyemale, more commonly known as horsetail or scouring rush.

It extended far into the brush on both sides of the trail.

Here the trail was boardwalk, and we crossed over Regan Creek, which was dry at this time of year.

In other places, the trail was dirt.

I'm loving all the fall color, and having the sun shining through the leaves makes it especially pretty.

Here, we crossed another narrow bridge over a running stream.

When we came to another clearing in the trees, we could get another good look at the river.

As we stood there, a jet boat went by. Mike noted that the water would be too shallow for any kind of outboard motor.

Looking in the other direction, we saw more fishermen. We also saw about a half dozen on the trail.

In the picture below, you can see the confluence of the Sauk River and the Skagit River. The Skagit is the larger river running through the middle of the image. You can just see a sliver of the Sauk just above center.

We saw lots of this moss along the way.

Close-up it's delicate and pretty.

Here's a bat house. We have a bat house at home, and I'm always happy to see these hard-working bug catchers welcomed with a home provided just for them.

There were fields of this bloomed out tansy. This was the only grouping that was still in bloom.

Also, some buttercups.

And a woolly caterpillar. Good thing I wasn't riding my bike, huh?

This peak was to the side. I tried unsuccessfully to determine its name. Maybe it doesn't have a name.

On our way back, we pulled off at a roadside park where we could see the Sauk Mountain range with its glaciered peaks.

And that was our day. When we opened the door to the camper, we found Sadie soaking up the sun in her catio. Try to ignore the cat snot on the kitty door.

We're expecting another beautiful day of weather today. We're planning a couple of short hikes today, and possibly a visit to the small town of Concrete, Washington. It's a historical town that provided concrete in the building of the dams in the area, including the Grand Coulee Dam. We'll be seeing that down the road in a few days.

And since I didn't have time for slow-stitching yesterday, I want to get some in this morning. This seems like as good a place to stop as any. The sheep are awaiting the arrival of my needle.