Not that long ago the road leading to the trailhead of Independence and North Lakes was impassable due to the road being washed out. The road has since been cleared and this picturesque hike is once again accessible. It’s a hard hike with lots of steep elevation gain and loss but the effort you put into it is well worth it once you see the spectacular views on the ridge top and enjoy a quiet moment on the shore of North Lake. The trailhead is located at the end of Forest Road 4060. No privy is available here but at…
Park Butte Lookout
A fellow Washingtonian recommended hiking in the parklands of Mount Baker’s southwest flank to us and we were glad they did! the Park Butte trail provided us with the most spectacular views of Mount Baker we have ever seen. If you’re willing to do the work the reward is well worth it on this incredibly scenic hike. According to the guidebook, 100 Classic Hikes in Washington, this hike is 7 miles, according to the Washington Trails Association the hike is 7.5 miles… According to our GPS app, GAIA, it was more like 8.25 miles. Whatever the mileage if you’re heading…
Park Creek Campground
Knowing that we wanted to hike in the parklands of Mount Baker’s southwest flank we decided to camp on Baker Lake Road (Forest Road #11). There are 7 campgrounds along this road, not to mention several pullout sites along the road. We knew there were campsites at the trailhead of Park Butte Lookout where we would be hiking, but we also knew that that hiking area is popular and assumed they would be taken. We were right. We began our search for a site at the first campground along Baker Lake Road, Horseshoe Cove. The campground has 38 tent/trailer sites and…
Paris Creek
We got a late start on Saturday morning after I inadvertently slept in. We decided to go for a day hike, rather than camp or backpack, seeing as both those activities require a lot of prep work and we were late enough as it was. Bobby had found a hike that was a long drive from home and, despite the 2.5 hours it would take us to get there we decided to go for it. I have always enjoyed long day trips in the car and this would prove to be a fun and lazy day! We had been on…