Park Butte — Saturday, Aug. 2, 2014

North Cascades > Mount Baker Area

The trail to Park Butte is wonderfully maintained and my group and I walked by several happy and hardworking WTA volunteers working on the trail (thank you again). The first half mile of the trail was easy, but I soon realized that backpacking is not walk in the park. In addition to the weight, it was a rather hot weekend and a steady incline. But boy, the views are worth it! We didn't have too much trouble finding a place to camp. There were a good number of hikers and plenty of vehicles in the parking lot and along the road, but we must have all been well spread out on the trails. We ended up in the valley with breathtaking views of the mountains, after settling in we hiked up to the Park Butte fire lookout and enjoyed a great sunset that lit up Mt. Baker. The next morning we spent some time at the glacial lake at the bottom of the lookout before leaving. The rest of the trek down was great as it was mostly downhill. Park Butte is a wonderful introduction to backpacking as it is challenging, rewarding, and not mind/body crushing, and of course, a wonderful day hike as well.