Road with many pot holes is open to the parking area. Lots of snow on trail. Trail completely covered with snow at end of Schrieber’s Meadows (watch for blazes on the way back - there is a track in the snow that goes off to the left and gets on the wrong side of a stream.) The main stream is easily crossed above the old bridge abutment. The trail begins climbing after crossing two small streams - one on a “bridge” of small logs. The trail again goes completely under the snow before the end of the switch backs but the going is easy from this point on over the snow. At least two camp sites along the ridge are free of snow.

Able to drive within 1/4 mile of trailhead due to a little remaining snow on road. Unsuccessful trip to Park Butte. Weather sunny and very warm. Bridges not in place yet and snow bridges very thin or melted out. Punching through snow in many places. Stayed to the east side of the morain and worked my way up into the high country directly across from the railroad grade for some nice spring skiing.

Who could sit still and overeat at home with weather like this! Decided to spend a couple of nights in conditions that felt more like June. During the ascent I could feel the transition from cold to warm due to the temperature inversion. Temps ranged from 8 to 12 degrees C, shorts, sunblock, and t-shirt during the day. About a foot of snow at 5400' but bare patches in places. Snowshoes were helpful for both the soft snow on the south facing slopes and the frozen north faces. A trio from Portland shared their turkey feast on Thanksgiving, splendid company. Look for bright Venus and Mars in the morning sky.

Park Butte Lookout -- Trail Report -- 8/24/02 Bad bugs, warm blue skies, trail in very good condition except for the high water crossing of Rocky Creek. One hundred five miles from my north Seattle home the Park Butte trail starts it's rise into another world, the world of the Volcano. A fine moderately steep alpine trail with sublime views, it has meadows and forests and mountain views and a raging glacier stream to cross, but above all it has views of Mt. Baker the volcano, past and present. It's a white snow cone from distant Seattle, but from up close you can see the the two summits (Grant & Sherman) with steaming crater between. And even more impressive is the giant blown out crater just to the west (the Black Buttes) rimmed by 3 more summits (Lincoln, Colfax, & Seward ) . A blowup bigger than Mt. St. Helens 1980 blast took off the top of the old Mt. Baker long ago. We started up at 10 and were back down at 5:30. The flies were very bad for the first 2 miles thru Scriebers Meadow and in the steep forest switchbacks. Rocky Creek was extremely high and very difficult to cross. Entering lower Morovitz Meadow a breeze commenced and blew most of the flies away. This meadow and the upper one were in full bloom with vast swaths of pink heather dominating. A bald eagle soared above a ridge to our right. We passed a family camping in the upper meadow (a lone tent in a 300 acre meadow) and major snow patches too. The final mile of steep trail up rocky Park Butte has better and better views in every direction as you climb. Arriving at the lookout for a late lunch time we stayed a long while. The lookout building maintained by the Skagit Alpine Club is only 4 miles from Baker's summit. It gives a 360 degree view from it's cliff top perch. Baker north, Twin Sisters range west, North Cascades east and south east, and Loomis Mtn due south. In the north foreground and below are Mazama park and the upper Morovitz meadows. On the way down we played in the snow a little (none on the trail) and explored the polished rock pond basin about a half mile down from the summit. It's just past the view of Pocket Lake. Here several ponds supply reflected views of the volcano (a great photo opportunity). Don't miss it , most years August & Sept. are the only snow-free good weather months. Robert Michelson

The view of Mt. Baker from Park Butte Lookout will blow your mind. And the blooming heather meadows below the Railroad Grade are pretty mind-bending, too. This is the trail to take your out of town visitors on. The trail is mostly in good shape from the Shreibers Meadow trailhead to the peak. There is a tricky ford at the bouldery creek flowing from the Easton Glacier. The heavily engineered switchbacks climbing the slope above the creek will gladden the heart of every WTA member. A few patches of snow remain on the trail on the upper reaches of Park Butte. The bad news is that the trails around here are terribly crowded, and black flies are abundant until you reach the alpine meadows. Try coming here midweek.