Baker River — Wednesday, Jul. 22, 2020

If you're reading this it's because you're thinking it's time to get outside and enjoy the amazing mountains, lakes, trails and campsites right in our backyard. Look no further than Baker Lake to find everything in one area. I had planned a two night, two and a half day trip that turned into one night and one and a half days. 

Sulphide Creek: I've been to Baker Lake before (camping, running, kayaking etc) but this was the first time going up the Baker River into the National Park to Sulphide Creek campground. I arrived in the mid afternoon to the northern most carpark of Baker Lake. Starting out from the trail head at the carpark I quickly found the fork (.5 miles into the hike) for the Baker River bank trail. This is right before crossing the suspension bridge that goes over the Baker River following the west bank of the river. The trail is a bit brushy in spots with a bit of nettle here and there that was easily avoided. Baker Lake generally is known for its old growth forests but Baker River valley seems like the Furs, Cedars and Hemlocks are even larger. The terrain is slightly hilly with some minor technical rocks and roots. Eventually there will have to be some major reroutes of the trail as a few cut banks of the river have eroded the trial quite a bit. Although the trail narrows in these spots there is plenty of room to safely get by. 

I arrived at Sulphide Creek campground and set up camp before heading off to explore the rambunctious creek. Heading upstream (West) I came into some breathtaking views of the lower reaches of Mt Shuksan with the Jagged Peaks in full glorious view. Wearing my sandals made it easy to ford smaller side channels of the creek to get to gravel bars and islands. The water here is crystal clear and so refreshing. The main channel of the creek looked too deep and too fast to try to ford so I stayed on the smaller braided sections. I got back to camp with plenty of time to eat dinner and hang my food in a bear bag. Unlike the National Forest campsites on the East Bank Trail of Baker Lake this campsite (run by NPS) does not provide bear boxes. The small voles that call this place home were everywhere and they're more likely to get into food by chewing through packs and bags than shy black bears.

Baker Lake East Bank Trail: The next day I had planned to retrace my steps (there are no more trails past Sulphide Creek), cross the main bridge over the Baker River and fast pack it down to Anderson Point (about 12 miles from the big bridge) on the south end of the lake. One thing to realize about this lake is that it is very accessible which makes it a great option for lots of people. In addition to all the large car camping areas on the west side almost all of the east bank campsites are accessible by boat. This means hikers and boaters have to share the primitive campsites of the east side. I don't find it a problem as there is usually plenty of space for both categories of campers. However with Covid19 some people may not want to be camping in close proximity to strangers. The good news, bad news of this lake is that it feels like a wild place yet still very accessible but that also means it can get really busy especially on a nice weekend. I chose to start my trip on a Wednesday for this reason. 

I made it to Anderson Pt by noon and then decided after lunch to return back north to Maple Grove. They’re both really great areas to camp, however I found Anderson Point already busy. I also saw a lot of toilet paper on the ground not near the outdoor loo. I picked up the TP I found with my trekking poles and tossed it into the pit toilet before leaving. Please be sure to pack out your trash and use the pit toilets available. 

Before turning back north I headed a half mile south to Anderson Creek to cool off from the heat of the day in one of the many glimmering pools. I arrived later to shady Maple Grove which makes it the perfect summer spot. The old rotting boat dock has been fixed up so I went swimming and relaxed on the dock in the bright afternoon sun. After more food and water I decided there was plenty of daylight left to head all the way back to the carpark in the north. By 6pm I had made it back to the car having hiked the majority of the east bank out and back in a day. Although I ended up staying one night less than I had planned I was happy to have come back to Baker Lake and discovered the truly remote feel of Sulphide Creek. 

Trails: east bank trail is well maintained with a few small logs to navigate, Baker River trail is really easy to hike but more brushy. 

Campsites: There are plenty of first come first service campsites on the east side of the lake. All of them have bear boxes and lots of tent pads and multiple fire rings. They’re all great in different ways from views of Baker, Shuksan, access to water, sunny, shady, close to a good flowing creek for water etc. If you like the primitive seclusion and the big trees that form a thick canopy, check out Sulphide Creek.

Animals: I saw a juvenile black bear exploring along the bank of the Baker River and plenty of bear scat. I saw a large Northwestern Garter snake, a good size lizard (alligator lizard?) basking in the sun, hawks, an eagle, lots of other birds I couldn’t identify, good size red legged frogs and perhaps a columbia tree frog. 

Water: If backpacking this area, some kind of water purification is highly recommended. There are plenty of streams and creeks to refill water and the lake is a good spot to fill in a pinch. 

Kayaking/Canoeing: I have also kayaked and canoed this lake and I recommend midweek outings unless you don’t mind constant wakes from anglers motoring around the lake. There is a prevailing wind on this lake similar to Ross Lake that blows from south to north usually starting in the afternoons. On occasion the wind kicks up strong enough to create consistent whitecaps making an upwind paddle expend a lot more energy from the chop. Plan your travel on the water accordingly. The lake looks to be a foot or two high as well so expect a lot of boat-in camp areas to be different on the approach.