Park Butte Lookout Backpacking

Where: Mt. Baker Wilderness

Mileage/ Elevation Gain: 7.5/ 2200

5 of us headed out from Seattle early Saturday to do an overnighter near Park Butte lookout. I had not been this far north yet and was excited to see Baker up close and explore the area. We typed "Park Butte Lookout" into Google Maps, but apparently should have crossed checked those directions. It got us very close to our destination, but told us to go left at a fork vs. the right that we were supposed to do. So it took us about 25 minutes down a long road and we realized it wasn't right and had to back track that 25 minutes again, whoops. Couldn't tell the other half of our group what was going on because of no service. We arrived to the parking lot and cars lined the side of the road very far. It was about 11 and many people had already gotten started with the day. This always makes me a bit nervous just for finding a spot to camp. We got all the gear together and hit the trail. WTA was doing trail maintenance (thank you, thank you, thank you volunteers!) near the beginning and at the lookout that day. I would love to volunteer with this great organization sometime. The beginning of the hike was pretty easy and then eventually started to climb more. What was killing us was the hot, hot heat. We took many breaks along the way to adjust for this. Eventually you get to a fork that continues onto the lookout or to railroad grade camp and high camp. There are many established campsites along here. Always stick to established campsites to reduce use on meadow lands and other fragile places. We chose to look for campsites at Cathedral Rock first as I heard that was nice. We climb up about 20 more minutes and then got to the cut off for Cathedral Rock. We looked in the area and there was a large clearing right when you walked to it that was large enough to fit our 3 tents. We looked around the area more but everything else was taken. We took the last spots at this campsite. We slowly unpacked, ate lunch and tried not to overheat. We were all feeling a bit tired and tried to nap, but the sun was beating down so strong that I was dripping sweat just laying there. Mosquitos were not a problem here, but flies and bees were quite the annoyance. After relaxing we came up with the game plan to try to swim in the lake that was a bit higher up and then make dinner at the lookout and catch the sunset there. We climbed about 20 minutes and got to the lake. It wasn't big enough to be a swimming lake and it was starting to get windy up there too so we opted out of the swimming. We did spend about 30 minutes filtering water here as this is the only water source this high up. After that we climbed another 25 minutes or so to the lookout. There were 3 people staying in the lookout and another couple +dog at the top also catching the sunset. We made dinner, enjoyed each other's company, captured the golden hour and took in the glory that is Mt. Baker. We made our way back to our campsites after this, made some hot toddies, hung the bear bags and said our good nights. I've really had a hard time sleeping in the backcountry. At first I thought it was my paranoia of bears, but now I come to realize that I'm super uncomfortable in a mummy style bag and toss and turn until I physically cannot stay awake anymore. Not fun. My dream would be the Nemo Sleep System, but my pocket book says otherwise. Will have to deal with being a constrained worm for now. The next morning we woke up, ate, packed up camp and headed out. The hike down was a breeze with it still being rather cool. We made it back to the car in no time and made our way back to Seattle, after grabbing coffee first of course.

Mt. Baker is a gorgeous area. I can't wait to explore more of it and hopefully summit it someday!

Rachel Lake and Rampart Lakes Backpacking Trip

Where: Near Snoqualmie Pass in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness

Mileage/ Elevation gain: 4 miles up to Rachel Lake/ 1600EG, then 1.5 mile/600 feet up to Rampart Lakes

Total Mileage: Around 11

My husband had this weekend off so we knew we had to plan some kind of backpacking trip. The weather was not looking good all over Washington (surprise, surprise), so I looked in some of the places with the least likely hood of rain. I saw that Rachel Lake had much less chance of rain than some other places so we went with it.

We had a group of 6 backpackers and 2 day hikers with us and 3 dogs, the biggest group yet! Lots of new friends were made that day as we all trekked up the mountain. The first 2.5 miles of this hike are easy peasy. After that, all the incline comes into play and with a mixture of rough terrain, we were all struggling. It felt like the longest 4 miles of our life to get up to Rachel lake (add in 30 pound packs might I add you). We finally get up and start scurrying to find the perfect site, a hard feat with looking for an area to fit 3 tents. The trail at the top does not go around the whole lake. If you go right it brings you up to Rampart Lakes and if you go left it takes you up the lake a bit with more camp spots. We walked about 5 minutes until we found an area with a descent clearing to fit all 3 tents + 2 hammocks. We all set up camp, ate lunch, and lounged around a bit. I had my sites set on getting up to Rampart Lakes as well, heck we were already up here, lets see it all! Most of the group was slow to get going, but 5 of us eventually dragged our tired bodies up the mountain once again. The 1.5 mile was steeeep but we were shortly rewarded with great overlook views of Rachel Lake. We got to the ridge and continued to what we thought was the trail. With lots of bushwhacking, we knew it wasn't right and backtracked to the sign that pointed left to Rampart Lakes and right to Lila Lake. We made the short, easy trek over to Rampart Lakes and was that a sight to see. This area was vastly different from the foliage below with many Alpine Lakes and different terrain. It was one of the prettiest areas I have been to in Washington so far. I would love to explore that whole area more and stay up there. After exploring a bit we made our way back to camp and made chicken and dumplings backpacker meals, made s'mores, drank wine, and enjoyed each others company.

This was also Cooper's (our one year old golden retriever) first time backpacking. We had gotten him his own pack to carry his food and a doggy sleeping bag (it's a real thing!). He had gone on many hikes and thought he was ready to do an overnight. He handled all the day hiking very well and made new doggy friends. When it came time for bed he moved around a lot at night as the wind was howling and there seemed to be lots of noises, but we all made it through the night.

We all slowly woke up the next morning and heard the pitter pattering of rain on the tent. Internally we were all thinking lets just never leave the tent so we don't have to deal with the rain. Well that chance of rain came through, but at least it wasn't the day before. Let me just tell you packing up a wet tent is at the bottom of the barrel for fun things to do on my list. Everything. Was. Wet. We donned our rain coats, rain covers for our packs, and hit the trail and made the 4 miles back. So wet trails + 80 pound eager golden retriever + steep descents do not mix well. Cooper does have a pulling problem on leash and made it miserable going down the mountain. We keep him on leash for safety and to avoid that $125 fine. Maybe he will calm down the pulling with age?...

We got back to the car in 2.5 hours and made a pit stop for the good ole' Scott's Dairy Freeze in North Bend. This is the spot for burgers/fries/milkshakes after a hike FYI.

Another backpacking trip in the book, new friends acquired, and as always, a deeper love for Washington and the beauty it holds.

Ancient Lakes

Picture overload like woah. When it's your first ever backpacking trip you document the sh** out of it. So we finally got to try out all the new gear, put our new knowledge of this new hobby to work. We decided on this destination as it is a very popular spring backpacking trip. It's in central/eastern Washington, sunny, warm and dry. Things that the western portion is usually lacking in the spring. It was an easy 2 miles into the lakes where we then set up camp. We got there by 11 and the parking lot was already full. And when I say we, I mean myself, husband and two friends went on this trip together. We get to the lakes and scope out some spots. We found one on top of hill with great views all around and a legit fire pit. We set up camp (didn't take us too long to set up the tent for the first time). We lounged a bit (napped) and then set up minnie day packs to go adventure around the area. Looking at the map I knew the trail made a giant loop so it couldn't be too hard to figure out, right? We follow it around a lake, hop scotch over some giant and shifty rocks and get to this large waterfall. Well the only way is up and it was some intense climbing up loose rock. We all made it in one piece. We explored the upper area with more water falls, lakes and beautiful views. A few miles later and we were heading down into the coulee (this is the word for the canyon type area apparently). There were marmots, snakes, and an owl spotted on this trek. And lots of mosquitos. We were back around 4 and relaxed until diner time. We got to try our new MSR stove out for the first time! (will do some gear reviews at a later date..) We got a freeze dried pad thai and it was delicious. We enjoyed our single beer and whole bottle of wine we brought in a camping wine bag (this is a thing and you should buy it. ) We had good conversation, laughs, met new people and just enjoyed the beauty of the area. We soaked in the sunset, roasted marshmallows and watched shooting stars. This is what dreams are made of.

We hit the hay early (10?) and the three girls decided to catch the sunrise (the sleep deprived surgery resident opted out). It was beautiful and then we went back to sleep for a little while. We woke up, made some oats in the MSR and packed it out to go.

We definitely learned some things we would want to bring next time and can leave out. We would really like an inflatable pillow because sleeping well is awesome. We also would love some kind of seat pad because sitting on the ground gets old. I would not bring so much food and try to plan that better. I'd also bring more/warmer clothes because I am a baby and sleeping outside in the 40's is even cold to me.

Backpacking/hiking/adventures challenge me in new ways all the time. I think that is a way it is addicting and always calling me back for more. I had to cross steams that had me shaking in my boots, use the restroom in the woods (sober), and totally leave behind everything that makes life comfortable. While some people couldn't stand the thought of all of that, it totally makes me wanting more and ready to take on the next adventure.

Here's to new hobbies, friends and memories that will last a lifetime.