On a beautiful, hot sunny day, we took a hike up Railroad Grade to see how far we could get and check out the wildflowers. Left at 11 in the morning, and had an easy creek crossing to begin with. Trail is in very good shape and has had a lot of work. Thanks to trail crews. The trail was completely clear of snow all the way to the top of the actual railroad grade, about 5700 feet. Makes a great hike for this time of year. Lots of flowers in the meadows and of course one of the best views in the North Cascades. The area around the top of the trail, however, is still snow covered, so we did not do any scrambling towards the Deming Glacier and Black Buttes. On the way down we had a sudden burst of energy so we decided to do Park Butte also. That trail is not in as good of shape and has many patches of rotten spring snow. But it is still very doable in tennis shoes with no equipment. Don't let the snow stop you. Beautiful view from Park Butte. On the return trip, the creek was much higher. We tried to rockhop but ended up slipping and getting all wet anyway. We would have been better just to wade it. We only met a few other day hikers. Several parties of backpackers and climbers.

This trip began with a thick fog, reducing my world to a mobile gray bubble. It was simple at first, follow the trail; then when the trail disappeared under snow just below Morovitz meadow, it became, follow the cohesive track. But when the climber’s track for those questing for Kulshan diverged, I was left puzzling over my compass & map, and the subtle contour of the ground beneath my feet. It turned out to be a fun challenge since this was all familiar terrain. Blunder, backtrack, slight adjustment, ahh I remember this stand of trees… I arrived early, so had plenty of time to set up, rest, drink tea, and study the 200 page owner’s manual for my new Canon 5d; this was to be my introductory trip to digital land. The gray curtain started to shred by 5p, and I played with the light and clouds of the landscape until 10. All was clear in the morning with a spectacular dome of stars through the night. The air was still, contrasting with the mineralized tumult, that slow-motion tectonic storm we call The Cascades. I had one full day of sunshine, until clouds started pressing in toward sunset. After two nights, departure was under similar conditions as my arrival, clouds and murk. But I had captured what I came for, and will let the rest of the story be told in pictures… (Bodhran contributed dog hair in one of the images)

The drive up FR to the trail was a little rough in the area where some work is being done. Otherwise easy. Took a wrong turn at one point trusting the 100 Hikes book. The mileages in these books are always significantly off for me (and not by a consistent degree). The trail is in fine condition. There were hordes of people. Lots of berries. Good fall foliage. The only possible obstacle was that the trail crosses a stream that grew significantly in volume over the course of the day. Did not require any wading however. I made it up to about 6400'. Some people were skiing down the Easton Glacier. Looked like fun. From the summit I think you can drop to around 6300' before having to take off the skis. That makes something like 4400' of vertical. Not bad. http://www.flickr.com/jasonracey

Dirt road 12 to the trailhead is having culverts installed so there could be some delays on weekdays. The road has some potholes but is in pretty good shape. The trail is partially washed out and rocky during the first mile as it crosses the moraine. The old suspension bridge is washed out but rock hopping across the stream was no problem. It might be a bit more challanging on a hot day in the afternoon when runoff is high. Views from Park Butte are excellent. The meadows/tarns to the east of the trail 1/2 mile before the fire lookout are worth exploring. Lots of photo opportunities here. No bugs and no snow. Enjoy.

Very clear day with excellent visibility. Very few bugs. A few very small snow patches in the trees below the meadows. Lower meadow snow free. After splitting away from the trail to Baker, the snow cover increased and the upper meadow was mostly snow covered. Several more snow fields going from the upper meadow to the lookout but trail easily located by following signs of existing traffic. Final stretch to lookout was snow free. Lookout was in excellent condition and views were amazing.