Hiked Doug Butte with two friends on Sunday.  The weather and views were perfect, but there was snow and a little ice on the trail. I wore my Crampons only because I feel more comfortable with them on.  Other people had only hiking shoes and poles and seemed to be okay (with poles).  Most people turned back before the last of the switchbacks, the view is still great, but the path was not pushed down enough so it was difficult to know which direction to go.  It was worth the hike though. 

This is a great and moderate hike that can satisfy beginner and experienced hikers. Closer to the top, you have the option to go forward/stay left rather than going right to take a stepper and rougher trail which is much quicker. Along the trail you get some good views but once you reach the top you get spectacular views of Mt. Baker, the Twin Peaks, and can even see Glacier Peak and Puget Sound on a nice day.

We arrived at the trailhead at around 11am on a Saturday and there was only 6 or 7 other vehicles in the parking area.  Fog had been around all morning but by the time we started the hike it had cleared and the sun was shining!  The beginning of the trail was a little bit steep, but this was maybe 1/2 a mile at most.  After the climb, the trail follows a ridge and is pretty easy.  The fall colors are beautiful right now and Mt. Baker was crystal clear! For being late october, it felt more like a summer day with temps well into the 60's.  This has become one of my favorite trails in the area!  

Check out the video to see how beautiful this area really is!  If you like what you see, I would love if you liked and subscribed to my channel. 

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.