White Salmon Snowshoeing

A couple of weekends ago I tagged along with M's dad and sisters, who were heading up to Mt Baker Ski Area for some downhill fun. Instead of buying a lift ticket myself, I headed in the opposite direction from the lodge; right back down the mountain. I discovered a snowshoe path that leaves from the last hairpin before the lower lodge. We had driven past it dozens of times, this time I went to explore it!

Mt Shuksan  

 I hadn't been on the trail before and made the mistake of asking the 'Baker parking team about how to get to the trailhead. I learned a lesson: never ask a ski bum where to snowshoe! I walked a half mile down a dangerous road to get there, and later found a back way in and out of the parking lot directly! Fortunately, the trail itself is frequently hiked and maintained as part of the Nooksack Nordic Ski Club.

Most of the trail follows a logging road. I came across a few other hikers, including a new snowshoer who was trying to figure out if his shoes were on backwards, a snow camper who was making breakfast next to his dug-in 4 season tent, and a solo snowshoer with two spring-loaded Doodles breaking trail ahead of him. I was hiking with my adventure buddy, Buckley the bison.

After a lunch break and a second loop of the in-and-out from the lodge (just to make sure I could find it again), I hiked up a cat track to Raven Hut. They always have a fire lit in the massive stone fireplace. With a cup of coffee upstairs, it's downright cozy!

The lifts closed around 3:30, just before dusk at this latitude. I hiked back to the parking lot and found that the rest of the crew was already at the family rig. We loaded up and raced the Baker Bus back to Bellingham.