Park Butte — Saturday, Aug. 16, 2014

North Cascades > Mount Baker Area

My son and I pulled into the parking lot at 10:15 am and squeezed the car in near a horse path. When we returned from the Park Butte Look Out there were at least ten cars parked on the side of the road. A couple small trees have fallen across the trail, but previous hikers have worn steps to easily walk over them rather than straddling. Stream crossings are also not a problem with hiking bridges intact. Some hikers still manage to not notice that these easier options are available. Some people had pitched tents at the base of Cathedral Rock.--What a great place to rest and hang-out! Finally I was able to hike beyond this area now that the snow is all melted. I didn't see any horses, but plenty of evidence they have been on the trail earlier this week, so watch your step! The views were lost in thick duck soup, so we had to be satisfied with eerieness, colorful alpine meadows, tasty huckleberries, and conquering the trail to the top. A group of volunteers were painting the historical look out a bright white--hard work among a throng of hikers, dogs, and high humidity. We didn't get to enter the structure. This well cared for trail is worth coming back to repeatedly. Cleansed by the soft rain the berries were a refreshing treat!