Just to piggyback on recent reports:
- Parking. Arrived at the trailhead at 8am Saturday (fine in sedan as usual). Lot had two remaining open spots. Appeared that all the other vehicles had overnighted Friday night. Parking lot was almost empty when we returned at 10:30am Sunday morning. I assume people stayed home due to the smoke/fires.
- Smoke: Thick to the south on Saturday but Mt. Baker itself was clear and the air felt clear at Railroad Grade until late Saturday afternoon. Mt. Baker and the surrounding peaks all disappeared in smoke at 4:30pm Saturday as it blew in on a continuous south wind. Smoke remained the remainder of the evening. North breeze overnight cleared the air around Baker and Railroad Grade for good views but it got smokier on the way down and out.
- Campsites: Looked like about half of the 6-8 backcountry sites at the base of Railroad Grade were occupied Saturday night (including ours).
- Water: Other campers walked the signed "water" trail to the stream that runs parallel to Railroad Grade to the west. I walked down to the stream and found a couple small spots where water was babbling into the area, but overall the streambed is almost dry.
- Berries: Ripe berries along the entire length of the trail.
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