Sauk Mountain Full Moonrise Hike
Due to low turnout, this hike has been cancelled.
Join us for a special early evening day hike to the summit of Sauk Mountain in the Cascade Foothills, where we will experience the high mountain spectacle of a nearly simultaneous sunset and full moonrise. Sauk Mountain was the fire lookout location where eventual Zen priest Phillip Whalen spent the summer of 1953. The lookout building is long since gone. The same summer his friend Gary Snyder was lookout on Sourdough Mountain. Later Whalen was also a lookout on Sourdough. In his poem "Sourdough Mountain Lookout" Whalen wrote -
"Then I'm alone in a glass house on a ridge Encircled by chiming mountains With one sun roaring through the house all day & the others crashing through the glass all night Conscious even while sleeping"
"Then I'm alone in a glass house on a ridge
Encircled by chiming mountains
With one sun roaring through the house all day
& the others crashing through the glass all night
Conscious even while sleeping"
On this hike we will attempt to capture some of the experience Whalen spoke of. We will arrive on the summit just as the late summer sun is setting over the Skagit Valley and the Salish Sea, and then thirty minutes later view the full moon rise over the Picket Range off to the east while the mountains go down in sunset glow.
The hike is a short, steep, climb of just two miles but with 1,200' of elevation gain (four miles round trip) topping out at 5,500'. It is a very popular hike and we are sure to not be alone on the summit on a full moonrise evening
What to bring: Bring warm clothes and a wind breaker to put on for some summit-time hanging out as we will be staying at the summit for at least an hour, water, trail snacks and a meal to eat for dinner at the summit, and be sure to bring a headlamp for the hike back down.
Carpooling/Vaccination: We need to carpool for this event, therefore, registrants must be fully vaccinated, and N95 masks must be worn inside the vehicles.
We will meet at the Bellingham Food Coop at 4:00 pm to form carpools for the 1-1/2 hour drive to the trailhead. We will be expecting to get back to the Food Co-op by about 10:30 pm.
Registration: Please register so we have an idea of how many are coming and who can drive for the carpools.
Costs: In the spirit of generosity, we offer this event free of charge so that all who wish may attend. We also invite generosity on the part of participants (who are able) by making a donation to Red Cedar Zen Community to cover our organizational expenses in making this event possible. You can do so while completing the registration form.
In that same spirit, the teachers/leaders are freely giving their time in organizing and leading this event. If you feel moved to, you may express your gratitude with a donation to the teacher/leader on the Donate to a Teacher page.
More information: Please contact Wilderness Programs Coordinator Bob Penny at wilderness@redcedarzen.org with questions and see our Wilderness Dharma Program webpage for an overview of this program.
Red Cedar Zen Community is a 501(c) non-profit organization.
