Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Craig Romano/The Mountaineers Books Heliotrope Ridge
Featured In:
Day Hiking: North Cascades,
by Craig Romano.
A portion of all book sales from the links above benefits WTA and helps protect and maintain our trails. After your initial shock at the size of the parking lot (this trail is the beginning of a popular climbing route too), enter cool hemlock forest and immediately drop to cross Grouse Creek, on a bridge thankfully. Now in the Mount Baker Wilderness (how many party-size violations can you spot?), the well-beaten path steadily climbs a bit before easing off. Encounter the first of three cascading creeks that must be crossed, all sans pont. The second one is the most difficult. Trekking poles come in handy. The trail picks up the pace, once more steeply climbing, now alongside Kulshan Creek. The forest thins, revealing teaser views. At 2 miles pass a backcountry campsite (elev. 4700 ft), the former site of the Kulshan Cabin, a structure built in 1925 by the Mount Baker Club and used until the 1980s. Soon afterward, come to a junction. Take the trail left; the trail right is a climbers route. As you travel through stunted evergreens, the incredible hulking Baker makes its presence known. Soon encounter the first of two challenging (potentially dangerous) crossings of braided Heliotrope Creek. Plan on getting your feet wet in icy-cold, rapidly moving waters. Be aware, too, that if it's a hot day your return will be even more difficult because of melting snows from above. Once safely across, proceed through marmot-enhanced meadows to the hemlock-lined edge of Coleman's lateral moraine. Wow! Right below you, snaked out like an oversized ice-cream cone on its side, a massive glacier! Continue on scant path, climbing alongside the glacier up the moraine-using care and staying away from the edge-to a 5550-foot ledgy knoll. Sit here in awe, gazing at the icy intricacies of the glacier. Rippled crevasses. Blue pools. Frozen portals. Be sure to look out at the alpine world around you too: Bastile Ridge just across the glacier, Golden Ears Mountain just across the border. And if you're wondering just what the heck a heliotrope is-it's a flower, one not native to the area. But early surveyors thought the native valerians looked awfully close.
Driving Directions:
From Bellingham follow the Mount Baker Highway (State Route 542) east for 34 miles to the Glacier Public Service Center. Continue east for another 0.8 mile, turning right onto Forest Road 39 (Glacier Creek Road). After 8 mostly paved miles, bear left at a junction and reach the trailhead in another 0.3 mile (elev. 3750 ft). Privy available. Recent Trip Reports
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Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Bridge out
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This was an excellent short hike with a huge reward vs the work put in. We reached the trailhead around...
This was an excellent short hike with a huge reward vs the work put in. We reached the trailhead around 10:30 AM and immediately saw the snow bridge is inaccessible and melted. A quick divert downstream about 50 feet leads to a downed tree and an easy way to cross the river.
The trail is soon lined with a multitude of wild raspberries, most of which are still yellow. A ways after, another river crossing is required and can be done going from rock to rock. This is the second of five rivers we had to cross and is by far the easiest. The next crossing is a bit trickier, but easily managed and could possibly be an issue as the day gets warmer. Continuing on, the trail briefly opens up into an entire hillside of blooming wildflowers. The fourth river crossing took some surveying but left few options for a way to cross without getting the feet wet. The rocks are a bit slippery as well. The trees at this point are noticeably shorter and the trail soon opens up with magnificent views of Baker and Coleman Glacier. The fifth and final crossing is by far the hardest if you want to keep your feet dry and could possibly be an issue for small children, especially as the day gets warmer. The end of the trail comes soon after and is well worth the effort. For a more detailed description of the trail and more pictures, visit http://www.miyake-san.com/exploration/heliotroperidge . Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Blowdowns | Bridge out | Washouts | Water on trail | Bugs
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Hiked this Friday and turned out to be a nice day. The bridge was out at the first creek...
Hiked this Friday and turned out to be a nice day. The bridge was out at the first creek near the trailhead. Had to ford about a 100 yards downstream. Many creek fords on this hike. Started out about 8:00am and hiked the upper climber camp to the right and the glacier trail to the left. Pictures do not do the glacier justice, this thing was awesome. Wildflowers were in full bloom and great closeups of Baker and Coleman Glacier. This was a fairly easy hike with great rewards, especially the closeups of Coleman Glacier. A must do hike.
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Blowdowns | Mudholes | Water on trail | Snow on trail | Bugs
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We left home (Everett) about 6am and reached the trailhead at 8:30. The road up was one lane and narrow...
We left home (Everett) about 6am and reached the trailhead at 8:30. The road up was one lane and narrow at that, with lots of twists so we were happy there was little traffic at that time. The temps were pleasant and cool and the bugs were minimal at that point. The trail started off with a bit of snow and one significant blow down, but once past that point it was mostly smooth sailing. There were 3 dodgy run-off crossings but we had poles, and although it made me nervous, it was fine. Normally I hike with a 7 year old and I’m not sure he would have been able to cross without getting wet. (I’m not even sure how those without poles managed it, but then again I'm not known for my coordination)
There are plenty of lovely spots on the way up to enjoy views from and the higher you go the more you can see. There are also a couple of pretty waterfalls to cool of next to. The last little bit was rocky and a little more vertical than I prefer, but the views are beyond stunning and very worth it! Not much wild life on this particular trip, but the flowers were out in force and very colorful. It was interesting and inspiring to see a climbing group down on the glacier, and several more climbers making their way further up the mountain. (However I don’t imagine I’ll take up climbing any time soon) Once the clouds started rolling in we headed back down the trail. By mid afternoon it had warmed up considerably and the bugs were out in force. The amount of foot traffic combined with increased run off had muddied the trail a bit more on the way down so I was glad we’d started out earlier. It was also great to run into a WTA work group on the way down! All in all, another successful and beautiful hike! Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Water on trail
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This is a popular hike, but there is plenty to see for everyone. The weather was perfect yesterday, the...
This is a popular hike, but there is plenty to see for everyone. The weather was perfect yesterday, the many waterfalls were running strong, and Coleman Glacier is magnificent. I recommend taking the Climber's trail as far as possible without going onto the icefields. The wildflowers are beautiful and the bugs are not bad.
Day hike
Issues:
Blowdowns | Mud/Rockslide | Water on trail | Snow on trail | Bugs
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Started off in Seattle at 11:30 am and reached the trailhead just a bit after 2:30. Did overshoot Forest...
Started off in Seattle at 11:30 am and reached the trailhead just a bit after 2:30. Did overshoot Forest Service Rd 39, so make sure you look carefully at the first right turn after the Glacier station, as it's labeled something else entirely. You'll see signs for 39 tucked in a ways.
The windy drive up to the trailhead is a one lane road with periodic turnoffs, so you can't drive too fast around the many curves, although you can speed up a little on the straightaways, especially if you're eager to get started There are numerous stream crossings as everyone has said, but they aren't too bad with hiking poles. The second stream had a log for easy traversing, and some of the other ones required a bit of patience and scouting to figure out the best path. Better, if you're hiking in the mid afternoon, you'll encounter scores of parties headed down and you can simply retrace their steps. Once you emerge from the forest after 2 miles or so, you'll get a full glimpse of Mt. Baker rising above meadows and streams. Hike a bit further and up some rocky terrain and you'll come across views of the Coleman Glacier, which is really breathtaking. There's nothing quite like being there, as the pictures don't capture how absolutely gigantic and imposing the glacier looks. There are numerous rock outcroppings where you can sit for a bit and have a snack. I was up there around 4:00 to 4:30 and felt like I had mountain to myself. Didn't quite know where the moraine ended so just decided to find a comfortable spot to enjoy the 360 degree views. |
Mt. Baker from Heliotrope Ridge. Photo by Slugman.
2010, 2011
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