Arrived at the trailhead around 6:20 AM, and a handful of parking spots were still available, but most were taken by the overnight campers. First stop was the Park Butte Lookout. The initial stretch of trail was a gentle warm-up, a flat and easily navigable path through the forest and meadow.

The first river crossing wasn't too difficult. The water level was low, and a few well-placed logs a bit upstream provided a dry path across. The second crossing had a bridge, making the main section simple, though a bit of rock hopping was needed on the other side to regain the trail. The rest of the route to the lookout was straightforward and not overly demanding, offering a pleasant and steady climb.

Reached the lookout to find just two people remaining from the night before, giving solitude to take in the spectacular views. After the customary photos and a moment to soak it all in, began the trek toward the Easton Glacier via the Railroad Grade trail.

Turning onto the Railroad Grade, the trail immediately transformed into a series of rocky steps before becoming a steady dirt path. The views along this section were incredible, with Mount Baker dominating the skyline and the glacier stretching ahead. We passed several friendly marmots basking in the sun before making it to Sandy Camp.

Took a break on the rocks before continuing the climb up through the various camps to the trail entrance of the glacier. The higher I got, the more vast and impressive the landscape became. After one more moment to sit and appreciate the immense scale of it all, we began the descent back to the car.

On the return trip, the day's heat had significantly raised the river levels, turning the once-simple crossings into a wet-shoe experience. While still manageable, it's a good lesson that an easy morning crossing can be much more challenging on the way back.

Stats: 13.4 miles, 4,521 ft vertical, 6:56 total time with almost 2 hrs of stops throughout the day.

I am calling this the Park Butte Elbow Lake Figure 8 loop.  It was a phenomenal figure 8 loop.  About 25 miles in length with 7,400 feet of gain!  Not a bad way to see the area.

We arrived at the TH around 9a on a Friday and the parking lot was full. The road has potholes, but there are worse roads and any vehicle can make it to the TH. There are 2 toilets and they were in good condition. They were serviced while we were on the hike.

There are so many ripe blueberries on the first mile or so of this hike! We had so much fun picking handfuls and were amazed we were the only ones picking berries.

The river crossing was much higher on the return. I've included 2 photos of the river so you can see the difference a few hours makes.

The views on this hike are incredible especially for a moderate hike.

This trail could use a pit toilet at or near the lookout. The area around the lookout smells like urine and there is a lot of toilet paper in the bushes around there.

My buddy and I did a sunrise hike to the lookout. The mountain gods blessed us that day.  One of my favorite hikes in the mt baker wilderness, absolutely stunning.

  Finally made my annual trek up to Park Butte Fire Lookout with friends. A little slower than normal but it was nice as I didn't get my heart rate up too much. This is one of my favorite hikes and one I have done at least 30 times since moving here some 35 years ago. Road to trailhead has lots of pot holes but still not too bad. The parking lots was full and people parked down the road for quite aways. This trail is very rooty with lots of rocks but the views at the top are worth the effort. Trail can be filled with flowers if you get there in early season. Most of the Lupines were past their blooming but lots of Heather. The melting Glaciers above made for some swift running creeks that you have to cross below. The Fire Lookout was filled with people. Recommend a weekday if possible but you still will not be alone on the trail. For one older gentleman this was beneficial as he took a bad tumble and had to be helped down the mountain. Hats off to all the hikers who organized a rescue group to get him back down the mountain to safety. These were not EMT or SAR just hikers looking out for one another. We came down right behind them. Several bears were encountered on the trail but not by our group. All and all a beautiful day to get out. Checkout the video of this hike below or checkout my VIMEO Channel linked below of over 450 hikes I have done in Washington State and beyond linked down below. As always get out and see this beautiful state and enjoy your hiking.

Take Care,

Mike