Seven Members of the Mount Baker Club made it to the Winchester/High Pass trailhead at the end of the wretched Twin Lakes Road today (in a Honda CRV and another high-clearance vehicle). Weather was not so chilly as predicted and there was no rain. Hoping the mists and clouds would yield to some sunshine, we headed up the trail to Winchester Mt. and soon reached the turnoff for High Pass. At this point two opted to hike up to the Lookout cabin (maintained and recently repaired by the Mount Baker Club), while five turned right and headed for High Pass. The trail at first descended, then basically traversed, before a series of switchbacks brought us up to Low Pass. As the skies continued to clear, we hiked farther and soon reached High Pass, where we found a few rocks to perch on while eating lunch. Though the mists had only cleared partially, we enjoyed some very impressive views. We could see that a steep and slippery path continued to an even higher spot, but decided to leave that for a clearer day. On the way down we spotted several mountain goats which a couple of campers had brought with them as pack animals. The trail was very exposed and a bit edgy at times, but we all had poles and did fine.
During the drive out, we did encounter a van that had gotten stuck, blocking the narrow road. We got out to see if we could help, and were able to offer some support until the tow truck finally arrived. No one else drove up behind us during the two hours we waited. The tow truck was actually able to tow the disabled van down to a wide curve, where we were able to drive around it and continue to the highway. Rather than spoiling our day, this snafu made it even more memorable.
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