Park Butte — Thursday, Nov. 20, 2003

North Cascades > Mount Baker Area

I had big ideas of spending a few days in fabulous sunny weather, surrounded by fresh powder, taking pictures, gazing at a cold-hardened starscape. I especially wanted to get up there before the area was invaded by shrieking snowmobiles. Well, best laid plans… I was able to park at about 2500’ which placed me about 6 miles and 3000' from the LO. Despite the prohibition, about 2-dozen razzers were fouling fresh breezes with oily fumes. I was encouraged by the prospect that the snowmobilers would be confined to the lower meadows due to the river barrier. The river was not very high, but the rocks were covered in ice; snowshoes with crampons helped here but my dog’s paws iced up after this crossing. I placed her booties on and she was good to go again. I was able to locate the trail but the tread was nearly completely filled in, making it necessary to head straight up the wooded slope. Two feet of powder proved troublesome at this point and my dog lost much of her boundless enthusiasm, even after I carried her pack. She convinced me to turn around, especially when the weather seemed to be less rosy than predicted. Given Saturday’s cloudiness/ showers, this was to be a fortunate decision. It may have been an exercise in futility, but at least it was exercise.