My son and I pulled into the parking lot at 10:15 am and squeezed the car in near a horse path. When we returned from the Park Butte Look Out there were at least ten cars parked on the side of the road. A couple small trees have fallen across the trail, but previous hikers have worn steps to easily walk over them rather than straddling. Stream crossings are also not a problem with hiking bridges intact. Some hikers still manage to not notice that these easier options are available. Some people had pitched tents at the base of Cathedral Rock.--What a great place to rest and hang-out! Finally I was able to hike beyond this area now that the snow is all melted. I didn't see any horses, but plenty of evidence they have been on the trail earlier this week, so watch your step! The views were lost in thick duck soup, so we had to be satisfied with eerieness, colorful alpine meadows, tasty huckleberries, and conquering the trail to the top. A group of volunteers were painting the historical look out a bright white--hard work among a throng of hikers, dogs, and high humidity. We didn't get to enter the structure. This well cared for trail is worth coming back to repeatedly. Cleansed by the soft rain the berries were a refreshing treat!

When we hiked this trail in late July 2011 (the year of the excessive snowpack and the late melt-out) we were hiking across snow as soon as we emerged from the trees and then all the way to the lookout. Since we were back in the area we wanted to redo this hike in snow-free conditions and I'm glad we did! The meadows were absolutely lovely, with heather blooming all over the place and other wildflowers sprinkled around as well. Just gorgeous! The views from the lookout were severely diminished because of the smoke from one of the wildfires in northern Washington blowing this way. We could barely see any of the mountains to the east, and the mountains to the south and west weren't all that clear either. This was disappointing, but we had good views last time and were glad to at least have good wildflowers this time.

Geezer Patrol minus one invested a 2 hour drive from Mukilteo to try out some North Cascades territory for a change. A few cars around at our 0830 departure from the trailhead and totally filled upon our return, so get outta bed early if you wan't some alone time. The air was smokey from all the big campfires going on in Eastern Washington but that in no way hindered still decent views of Mt Baker as we shlepped across Schreiber's Meadow to the massive boulder field and stream before the "climb" thru the forest. That climb is good for 1.3 miles and helped stave off the rising temperatures on a record setting day before you emerge into the heather filled meadows at 4500'. The trail gradient mellows out as your vision field is consumed by the mountain. Unfortunately, fatigue consumed the author and our party stayed together for lunch in a meadow campsite 800' below and one more mile from our original destination. A nice spot for R&R with lunch and then it was back down in the heat to the overfull campground. Met lots of folks on their way up in the heat of the day carrying everything from nothing ( our thanks to the two ladies in simple exercise gear) to heavily loaded backpacks laboring ever upward. You need to carry all the water you need as there is only one very small trickle two thirds the way up noting that this area has horse traffic indicated by the monster piles of road apples left for the rest of us to enjoy. Also, to our amazement, bugs were a non-issue for the entire day. Hope ya'll make it to the top.

After staying overnight on Railroad Grade, I hiked to the Park Butte lookout as a day hike. I woke at sunrise and walked up pretty much alone, with the sun rising on fields of pretty, if someone beat up heather. Beat up due to years of rampant trampling, now discouraged with occasionally ignored "trail closed" signs. The trail wanders through forest and then rock gardens to wind around and ascend to the lookout, passing Cathedral Camp and two alpine tarns on the way. The tarns are not for camping, though later, as the day heated up, people and their hot puppies enjoyed them for dipping. Two people had stayed at the small lookout, thrilled to find it unreserved the night before. They were up when I got there, woken by the most friendly Jessica and Lida, who were camped below and stored their food in the lookout. The lookout inhabitants had their dog, Bear, along. Bear, a bulky Staffordshire, appeared to be nervous about the vertiginous view, and would only climb the stairs and perch on the deck above them. She preferred to sit on my feet, as if I were going to save her from gravity if the drying wood of the lookout gave way. The dog's name was ironic considering I'd passed two groups of three guys the day before, wearing full camo and toting fire power to bag a bear in the high country hunt that is now open. Bear's owners said a bear was indeed seen, and everyone I talked who saw the bear said they were happy it lived to see another day instead of becoming a rug. The lookout has great views, but what's worth noting is not so much gleaming glaciers, but the drama of the ridges below the lookout, and the long curve of the ice-empty moraine sweeping off Baker. Later in the day, a North Cascades leader tells me the glacier recession is dramatic here, and nowhere is it better viewed than from the lookout; from a farther vantage than Railroad Grade, you get a better chance to imagine the immense size of the ice that once filled those moraines. I took my pictures, but skedaddled out as the sun was rising hot and I wanted to get my camping gear from Railroad Camp and get out before the temperature and hiker number soared. I had enough time to have a great talk with Catherine, the NFS volunteer checking in with hikers along the way, and catch a Lorquin's admiral butterfly enjoying the wet meadows below the lookout and the grade.

Why hike just one trail when you can hike three from the same trailhead? We hiked the Scott Paul Trail counterclockwise, headed up to Park Butte and then hiked the Railroad Grade to the climbers' camp on the way back. This adds up to more than 15 miles of hiking if you believe MapMyHike. Just the facts this time: -The forest roads to the trailhead are in great shape. Even in my Mazda 3 I had no problem going 20-25 the entire time. There are maybe three rough spots and no potholes. -We showed up at 9 AM and found plenty of spots in the parking lot. By the time we returned, there were cars parked along the road beyond the hiker campsites. -Ascending via the Scott Paul Trail is very easy. OK, one notable exception: there's a huge blowdown you'll have to navigate. Crawling underneath seems to be the easiest way. If you have bad knees, do the Scott Paul Trail clockwise to take advantage of the smooth tread on the descent. -From the saddle, the views and wildflowers never really stop until you descend back to the forest. Heather is particularly prevalent. If you tire of heather, there's a great Rainier-style display just before the Railroad Grade trail reaches the moraine. Berries aren't quite ready yet. -The best view of Shuksan is probably the saddle where the Scott Paul trail leaves the forest. -There is no snow on any of the trails but you can easily find some without having to stray too far from the trail if that's your thing. Both seasonal bridges are in place and the unbridged creek crossing on the Scott Paul Trail is not difficult. -While the Scott Paul Trail isn't the place to go for solitude on a Saturday, it was much quieter than the trail to Park Butte. At no point did the trail ever feel too crowded, though. -Saturday was a bit hazy due to the various fires, but we could still see pretty far. Mt. Rainier is visible from the Scott Paul Trail and Glacier Peak is particularly visible from the Railroad Grade. Since the most dramatic mountains are to the east, the views improve in the afternoon. -If heights aren't your thing, skip the Railroad Grade. That being said, it's not particularly sketchy until you pass High Camp. The views get better and better the further up the trail you go, of course. -I saw a pika on the Scott Paul Trail, a large raptor soaring over Park Butte (from far away, so I couldn't ID it beyond that) and a whole bunch of marmots along the Railroad Grade. Shockingly, there were no mosquitoes despite the clear, sunny weather.