Park Butte — Monday, Jul. 23, 2007

North Cascades > Mount Baker Area

Road to trailhead was clear and passable. An area marked as problematic was not. Machinery was cutting brush along the road. The trail was clear, and blowdowns had been cut. Trail maintenance equipment was in evidence, and it sounded as if someone was using a chain saw on the parallel Scott Paul Trail. The stream crossing was no more difficult than last year, which means that agile stone stepping is all that is required. Slushy snow starts at the far end of Morovitz Meadows. An evident boot beaten path across snow fields leads to the lookout. On this day, the Meadows were sunny, and the views of Mt. Baker good. The branch trail to the lookout led into a cloudbank that never entirely cleared. Visibility at the lookout stubbornly remained no more than a few hundred feet. Cool temperatures meant that bugs were minimal.