Park Butte — Saturday, Nov. 13, 1999

North Cascades > Mount Baker Area

Started out from parking lot at 10a.m. taking the recommended detour over the snowmobile bridge. The hike through the mud-bog wasn't fun or exciting. Just glad to be hiking without bugs. After 1/4 mile we hooked back up with the main trail. through Schriebers Meadow. Trail was in decent condition. With wood planks covering most mud-holes. We could see the snowmobile arrows about 25 feet up on many trees. Does the snow get that deep up there' As we approached the creek we encountered alot of water on the trail from the week's rain. The sign says foot bridge but there wasn't one. Just the podiums for the sides. We managed to find good fordes within a few minutes. Had to cross about four times before we finally left the water behind. At 3800 feet on the altimeter we encountered sufficient snow on the trail. Then at 3900 feet we met a woman, 3 guys and a dog coming down from the lookout. They had spent the night and were the only other people that we encountered on the trail. About that time we started the switchbaking up the side of the ridge. We soon met up with trail #603.1. At two hours into the hike we came upon Railroad grade trail #603.2. It didn't look as though anyone had hiked it in a while so we pushed on through the snow. About a mile from the lookout we were able to see Easton Glacier. The top of Mt. Baker was still covered in a shroud of weather.Some 500 feet from the lookout we finally saw the mountain. What a beautiful sight. We snapped off some pictures and made the lookout in 3 hours. The snow was soft and made it difficult to walk in. Snow shoes would have been a big help. The lookout is very well maintained by The Skagit Alpine Club. It was nice to sit inside on chairs and eat a meal. It only took us two hours to hike out. We reached the truck at dusk. Good hike for a good view of Mt. Baker and the glaciers.