Mt Baker Sunshine

It doesn't always rain on Baker! We went back for another round, just hiking this time, on the shoulders of the local volcano. We were surprised to encounter several snowfields, but the mountain was out and there was hardly anyone on the Scott Paul section of the trail, so we couldn't complain!

the view from Park Butte

The last time I was there was with M's brother, whose long legs I chased around the Scott Paul Trail and up Park Butte. This time, we went towards Park Butte first. Schriebers' Meadow was a  deceptively flat entry to what turned into a steep climb through the woods, passing mountaineers who were coming back from their summit attempts and puffing weekenders. At the top, we passed the sign to Railroad Grade (trail to the Easton Glacier summit route) and continued left towards Park Butte.

Shortly after the fork in the trail, we encountered our first snowfield. I hastily pulled my sunglasses down off my hat, momentarily blinded by the glare off the snow. M's glasses didn't come down as far and left him with a light gap next to his cheeks. He had a headache from squinting after a few hundred feet! Fortunately, there was no snow at the top of Park Butte, so we gratefully wolfed down the thick sandwiches M had made while letting our eyes rest and our feet swing off the deck of the lookout tower. 

Crossing back over a snowfield on the way down from Park Butte

Park Butte is an out-and-back spur off of the Railroad Grade trail, so we tromped back down to the treeline and took the turn to the Scott Paul Trail. Ours were the first footprints across the patches of snow on the trail as we trekked below the Railroad Grade. This trail is so beautiful, I couldn't believe that we were the first on it that day!

As we zigzagged across the glacial moraines that run down the shoulder of the mountain, we crossed paths with just a few other pairs of hikers. One pair of hiking buddies passed us when we stopped to pump glacier-fresh water at a stream crossing... It was warm enough that we were grateful to have the extra liter of cold water! In some places, the streams cut under snowpack, making flimsy snow bridges. We were careful crossing them, but I might have dropped in once or twice... crossing snow bridges is scary, and made me realize why so many mountaineers hike over the glaciers early in the morning, when the snow bridges are solidly frozen! When given a choice, I'd choose the suspension bridge option for crossing rivers any day...

Hopefully we'll make the trip at least once more this summer, once the snow has melted. We've even talked about making it into a multi-day hike, sleeping either in the Park Butte lookout or on the side of the mountain. The breathtaking 360* views of the mountains would only look more beautiful with a starry backdrop, don't you think?

Looking back at Park Butte (right), Railroad Grade, and the trail