Arrived at the Damfino Lakes trailhead around 9:30 and there were already a ton of cars in the parking area. We headed up towards Excelsior Pass not sure how far we would get, passing Damfino Lakes (beautiful). The trail up through the woods was a pleasant climb and before I realized it we were out in the meadows heading up to Excelsior Pass. Once we hit the pass, the views were phenomenal and since it was pretty early in the day we kept going. Most of the guidebooks say that if you want to get to Excelsior Peak you have to take the trail that goes in front (south) of the peak and loop back around, but there was actually a trail that goes right up to the peak from the pass. The dogs and I took the south facing trail and headed out on High Divide trail which was awesome. We hiked east for another 1.5 miles and the whole time the views were amazing. So my suggestion is keep going past Excelsior Peak which was jammed pack with people when I headed back, the views become better and the crowds thin out. A fabulous hike!

Knowing the popularity of this hike, I opted for a quick overnight trip with an early start time the following morning. Damfino Lakes which are more adequately described as tarns are just 1 mile from the trailhead. Leaving the trailhead at 10:30 PM this short jaunt was perfect for a night hike. Made camp and caught some great meteor showers. Hit the trail at 6:30 AM. Had breakfast atop Excelsior Mountain around 8:00. The vistas here are top notch. Basked in the morning sun and admired Mt. Baker. I continued on to Welcome pass and back. Not a sole on the trail until I headed back down from Excelsior pass.

Snow level in the lee of mountains have moved above 5000' so it was time to return to one of our favorite hikes. The morning started foggy with cloud with the forecast for sun later in the day. Unfortunately, the clouds persisted so our views were limited.

Trail was clear and fast, a pleasant number of hikers (and a lot of dogs hauling their two leggers out for exercise). We turned around at 7 miles out since this was a day hike (Damfino Creek area) and returned back to the car for approximately 14 miles.

More photos at: http://www.facebook.com/alb[…]=700341335&l=c72bf15804

A combination of the cold front and trail reports indicating high snow levels causes us to pick the Mt. Baker area because we know we can find snow somewhere there.

After usual breakfast at Harvest Moon Bakery (they have Vegan, Dairy-free and Gluten-free offerings) we decided to try Damfino Lakes. We had been there earlier in the season and there was snow then.

Road was clear until 2700' feet, then bare with snow on sides, and by 2800' we were facing a sloping curve that was a sheet of ice frozen hard from the low temperatures overnight. Snow line (for the road) was at 2820'. Temperature got up to 22F by midday. For the first portion we used YakTraks on the boots to insure firm footing on the ice.

We hiked up to the trail head and a little along the trail to Damfino Lake before turning back. Our camelbaks water hoses had frozen solid and a wind was picking up.

Road/Trail was in beautiful shape - well packed by the snowmobiles. Ideal for a hike up and ski back (we unfortunately packed snow shoes that we never needed). Lots of pretty waterfalls along the way. 5 snowmobiles in total for the day. No other pedestrians of any form or number of legs.