After a stop down at Blue Lake we headed up to Dock Butte. The sunny weather forecast was a bit off, it was somewhat cloudy with sun breaks. Most of the way along the meadow area of the ridge we had views of The Sisters and Loomis Mountain but just a glimpse of patches of Mount Baker's glaciers through the clouds. There are still lots blueberries to be had in the meadow but they are past their peak. The berry leaves on the other hand are brilliant now in their orange and red fall colors. We ran across at least two locations of bear scat on the trail. Just a reminder of whose trail this is and whose blueberries.
The trail is in good condition but within about a hundred feet of the summit there is a scramble up a small wall and a steeply angled slab. The views from the top were great even on a partly cloudy/partly sunny day. We could see east to Baker Lake and northwest to The Sisters, Loomis Mountain and Park Butte to the north. We did not see Mount Baker from Dock Butte but when we were on our way back down through the meadow the clouds cleared for about three minutes and most of baker was revealed.
The access to the trail head (FR-12) is in good condition and suitable for most vehicles-we even saw a Tesla sedan in the parking lot.
Comments