Very glad to have the Derrs and the Allans with us today. Just over 100 miles and two hours to the TH. Clouds were hanging on the high peaks. Blueberries started right outside the parking lot. The high bush kind are a lot better than the low bush kind, if still a week or two away from peak. We did not see the bear hanging out in the meadow. A few foresty switchbacks, and then more meadow. This trail is very open the whole way. Stay left at all junctions, and notice the lookout above. Wander past the trees and tarns where the best pictures of Koma Kulshan can be taken. The clouds dropped down to about 7000' just before reaching the LO. That was it for views. The LO is in great shape, thanks to adoption by Fred Darvill and the Skagit Alpine Club, the same group who maintains Hidden Lake Peaks LO. You can stay the night, with a gas stove in place, a telescope, and a privy just below. Missing: Views, bugs and crowds. Present: Lewis Monkey flower, berries, and rain on the way out. This trail has some very rocky sections, and a dicey creek crossing over a muddy torrent. Not for the fainthearted. Without the rain and clouds this could be a spectacular hike. 7 miles R/T, a casual 4:30 away from the car.

Parke Butte trail is an easy-moderate trail, in my opinion. We had three in our party ranging from mid fifties to early seventies in age. Rocky Creek was a bit of a problem. Two of us waded across between the red trail markers on both sides. Wading in the am was not hard. The third member went upstream, maybe, a 1/4 of a mile where two downed trees lie end to end and crossed over on the trees. Coming back down to Rocky Creek in the pm, we found the creek had become higher and faster(as expected). One of us, even with two hiking poles was lucky to keep his balance, which isn't good to start with, as he waded across. A number of younger folks had no apparent trouble rock hopping (although some got their feet wet). Rest of the trail to Parke Butte was very well maintained and pretty easy in my opinion.

Wonderful day hike. Started at Schreiber Meadows at 11:15 a.m. and back to the car by 4:30 p.m. We almost didn't go because the ranger in Sedro Wooley was trying to warn us that crossing Rock Creek would be tricky. Not at all!! Yes, you have to boulder hop a bit, and the water is higher at the end of the day, but no problem. The trail is snow free to Morovitz Meadow, but after that it's still totally covered, though the snow is fairly easy to walk on. Beautiful views of Mt. Baker and all the peaks in the distance, with some fog and clouds moving in and out. The best part was that we only saw about five or six parties all day, and NONE of them went up to Park Butte lookout, so we had it all to ourselves. What a treat. A few weeks from now this trail and the lookout will be swarming with people. We glissaded most of the way back to the trail. This makes for an easy day hike (7 miles round trip), and not too far a drive from Seattle.

Sunshine, warmth, surrounded by snow and clear mountain scenery; what could be better on a near-Solstice weekend? Well, Nubian Solstice-celebrants would have been nice, but cool quiet mornings, dark starry nights, and warm breezy days were enough for this summit resident. The storms Friday afternoon were an exciting wrinkle in otherwise idyllic weather. Schreiber’s Meadow is nearly melted out finally liberating it from the shrieking snowmobile crowd. The bridge will not be showing up this year; the failed supports tell a story of savage water in the fall. No matter, the channel has shifted west of there anyway. Dry-foot crossing was sporting but possible in the mornings, before snowmelt was in high gear. Snow began in earnest about 500 feet below the upper meadows. Mornings and evenings were spent harvesting images in sweet light; days passed spying on the battalions of climbers marching for the summit prize. I counted more than 100 on Kulshan’s glacial expanse Sunday. Their camps blinked to life about 1a each night, chains of lights snaked upward under a star-prickled sky. My winter celestial companions, Pliedes, Taurus, and Orion, have been replaced by Scorpius, and Teapot steaming its Milky brew across the night dome. When I left yesterday, a large kite was flying from the summit. Surprisingly I saw no one on the hike out. Some mosquitoes are beginning to appear in this splendid warmth. Soon the sound of their whine may overwhelm the snowmelt freshets that give these mountains their name. Happy Solstice!

I had big ideas of spending a few days in fabulous sunny weather, surrounded by fresh powder, taking pictures, gazing at a cold-hardened starscape. I especially wanted to get up there before the area was invaded by shrieking snowmobiles. Well, best laid plans… I was able to park at about 2500’ which placed me about 6 miles and 3000' from the LO. Despite the prohibition, about 2-dozen razzers were fouling fresh breezes with oily fumes. I was encouraged by the prospect that the snowmobilers would be confined to the lower meadows due to the river barrier. The river was not very high, but the rocks were covered in ice; snowshoes with crampons helped here but my dog’s paws iced up after this crossing. I placed her booties on and she was good to go again. I was able to locate the trail but the tread was nearly completely filled in, making it necessary to head straight up the wooded slope. Two feet of powder proved troublesome at this point and my dog lost much of her boundless enthusiasm, even after I carried her pack. She convinced me to turn around, especially when the weather seemed to be less rosy than predicted. Given Saturday’s cloudiness/ showers, this was to be a fortunate decision. It may have been an exercise in futility, but at least it was exercise.