Hiked Railroad Grade to the base of the Easton Glacier climbing route which is always spectacular. Clocked in 8 miles and 2600 feet of elevation gain. Lots of climbers about with handfuls of day hikers on this Tuesday.

Road: The road to the trailhead is 9 miles long, with a lot of potholes in places, a few absolute craters that might be harder to manage in a low clearance vehicle.  Glad we have a truck. 

Creeks: The rocky creek is quite high at this time, even with the bridge installed there were two additional small creek crossings that involved using rocks to cross and manged not to get to wet. The suspension bridge is yet to be installed on the Scott Paul Trail. 

Snow: The trail is snow free until the Park Butte/Railroad Grade junction, with the route up railroad grade completely snow free until the Sandy Camp at 6000'. Some small patches of snow remain off trail. From a glance the Park Butte Trail has intermittent snow patches/fields which appear to be mostly in level areas. Cannot speak for how they are to cross. The Scott Paul Trail also appears to have snowfields on upper portions.  Snow is melting very fast and could be off these trails within days from now. 

Trail is great easy snow to cross near top. Got spooked by a bear growling after crossing the last glacier runoff on the way down. Decided to wait for another group w bear spray and it growled at us again. Never saw it only heard it pretty spooky. Bring bear spray I guess. Gorgeous views otherwise even though Baker was mostly clouded in.

Had a great beautiful day hike to the fire lookout and back. The weather was amazing, and we saw a good number of people on trail, mostly groups summiting Mt Baker, but also some day hikers like us, and people with dogs and kids ages 7ish-14ish.

The trail was easy going (or, as easy as 2,200 feet of elevation gets), with very well maintained trails, and a gradual incline that never felt sketchy. Two creek crossings - the first required some leapfrogging from stone to stone (or being ok with wet shoes), and the other had a newly-built bridge which was very helpful. Be mindful of the water level - what you see in the morning will increase by afternoon as more snow melts off! 

At the last mile and a half, the terrain changed to be totally snow-covered. The snow is mushy and slippery because it's actively melting, and I don't think spikes would have helped, but poles might have. It was a slog to go up, but the way down was pretty easy (you can slide down on your butt if you are so inclined). I think a few more weeks of weather like this and the snow should be gone. One piece of advice here is to bring sunglasses - the glare off the white snow in the midday sun was a lot, and gave me a bit of a headache by the end of it.

Once you reach the lookout, the views are amazing, and we spent a while having lunch and hanging out. All in all, a great hike. It's fairly physically intensive, but the reward is 10000% worth it!

The Park Butte trailhead area offers some options for getting out into the mountains for those who are able to take on less than other hikers. I am writing this trip report to let people know it’s a beautiful area for people who are limited by age, health, short mileage limits, older dogs, etc. Please read on as I am NOT referring to the whole Park Butte hike. Here are some ideas & info:
-There are 2 campsites for 1-night stays at the trailhead that you can pull into with your car. If not already claimed by mountaineers in this popular area, maybe on a weekday, they’d make a great base camp by the river.
-There is a nice picnic area by the creek about 0.1 miles down the trail.
-A bridge just a bit further makes a scenic spot for a short walk from the trailhead.
-You can reach the meadows with some mountain views within 1/2 mile.
-A 1 mile hike (2 miles round-trip) takes you all the way through Schreibers Meadows.
Note: This whole first mile of trail climbs gradually with mostly a wide tread and places where stepping up or around obstacles is necessary.

All this to say if you - or a family member - are an avid outdoor adventurer who needs to take things slower these days, sticking close to the trailhead at Schrieber’s Meadow/Park Butte trail just might tic all your boxes (beautiful wildflowers, scenery, peek a boo views, and hiking a trail in the mountains).

As with all backcountry adventures, please practice Leave No Trace and responsible hiking practices.

The road is 9 miles and has lots of potholes.

We day hiked to Schreiber’s Meadow today (cannot comment on snow/etc beyond there). It was lovely.

Note: this report does not cover the Lookout itself. We took the Park Butte trail to the second junction that splits left to the Lookout and right to Railroad Grade. We did not go all the way to the top of the Lookout but instead we opted for Railroad Grade. Regardless, this report will be helpful for both trails as both destinations will share the same trailhead for the first half of your hiike. 

Road: It's rough but passable. Immediately upon entering Baker Lake Rd, you'll encounter potholes that worsen as you get closer to the trailhead. We took our iddy-biddy Chevy Bolt and it had no issues, though it took 55 minutes to drive 6 miles. Larger vehicles will be quicker. No snow, no downed branches, no washouts.  

Trail Conditions: there are two riverbeds to cross. One has a stable, makeshift bridge upon which you can walk. The other requires skipping over or wading through the water. Don't worry, the depth is aboutt ankle-high. If you can do it, which most people can, you can simply jump over rock-to-rock. It gets muddy in spots about midway up the trail. 

Equipment: nothing fancy - just hiking shoes/boots. Waterproof is recommend for possible wading through a creek and muddy spots. Sunscreen & bug repellent is highly recommended. 

Difficulty Level: My GF and I are out of shape and only hike once in a while. Compared to other hikes, it's relatively short in duration but intensifies midway. If two out-of-shape city dwellers can do it, then you can easily conquer it. Full disclosure: we didn't go all the way to the end of the trail because it required traversing a razor-thin ridge and we're petrified of heights.

The Actual Hike: The trail starts off fairly level. You'll soon come across your first "obstacle": a rocky riverbed that still has an active stream of water. Don't worry, it's not deep or rapid but barely wide enough where you'll either have to briefly wade through water or jump rock-to-rock. The second riverbed has been blessed by a makeshift bridge, courtesy of nature-loving volunteers. After you clear both crossings, the trail gradually intensifies. If you're of out shape like us, you'll eventually need a 5 minute pause to catch your breath. It doesn't take long until you clear the layer of forest and enter into open meadows filled with berries and wildflowers (as of mid July, the berries were still green). This is where you'll need sunscreen as the shady protection from hovering trees immediately disappears. After entering the meadow, you'll be faced with a junction: to the left is the Park Butte Lookout and to the right is Railroad Grade. We opted for Railroad Grade because the Lookout was another 1,000-ish ft worth of gain. So if you want something tranquil and easy on the diaphragm, Railroad Grade is perfect. A set of stairs will take you over a ridge where an up-close and panoramic view of Mt Baker awaits. Go a bit further and there's a razor-thin ridge that only the brave and well-equipped should traverse. We stopped just short of the ridge but still cautiously crept up to the ledge to take in an awesome view of the ravine below.

Overall, if you want quiet, not overcrowded and absolutely breathtaking vistas, this is your hike. 

Difficulty Level: 

My GF and I are out of shape and only hike once in a while. Compared to other hikes, it's relatively short in duration but intensifies midway. My gf had to rest for 5 minutes before proceeding upward. If two out-of-shape city dwellers can go almost to the top, then you can easily conquer it. We didn't go all the way to the end of the trail because it required traversing a razor-thin ridge and we're petrified

of heights.