Made the most of a marginal weather day in late August rambling about a corner of the North Cascades I affectionately refer to as "Bakerland". As my informal name suggests, this is the area around Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan including the peaks and tributary valleys immediately north of Nooksack River Valley. Served by Highway 542, the lifeblood of Mount Baker Ski Area and which literally dead ends in the aptly named Artist Point parking lot just beyond, this zone has been my go-to for year-round outdoor adventures for ages. Why? Because the scenery is stunning, among the finest in the Washington Cascades with peaks, glaciers and deep river valleys in all directions, the ski touring is superb, wilderness access couldn't get any better and as of circa 2017 it's practically in my back yard!
For this latest installment in said back yard, I decided on an objective that caught my eye several years ago from the lookout on nearby Winchester Mountain - Goat Mountain. The peak is comprised of two main summits: the lower West Peak being served by a maintained trail starting from NF 32. My plan was for a twofer by taking this trail up and over West, then down to the saddle between it and the main peak and finishing via the West Ridge to the true summit. I'd then return via a steep cross-country traverse across heather and grass on the south side of the peak to intersect the trail where it ascends the South Spur of West somewhere above treeline. This was all fine and dandy despite the approximately 5000 ft of gain and 10 kilometers round-trip to do so, but what I didn't consider in my plan was the earlier than predicted arrival of rain.
With an 8 am start, I raced up the trail and out of the forest only to see ominous dark clouds advancing from the northwest. Hmm...best to hurry along! Onwards up the South Spur for a bit before traversing the southwest-facing slopes and then along the final summit ridge with just a smidge of scrambling at the end to reach the top. A cold wind was blowing with the cloud ceiling already dropping on the higher peaks. Views still excellent and all-the-more dramatic thanks to the layered bands of atmospheric waves forming around me - north to the Border Peaks and Larrabee, south towards in-your-face Sefrit and Shuksan with Baker just beyond lording over the Nooksack River Valley, northeast towards the BC Cascades with Slesse, Rexford and company, and finally a marvelous view looking up Ruth Creek Valley with the serrated spires of the Picket Range still bathed in sunshine far to the east! And then it started to rain.
Hunkered down for a few minutes thinking perhaps it was just a passing shower, but no such luck. Abandoned my designs on the main summit, mainly because I don't much care for the slip 'n slide of wet, steep heather, and headed back to the trailhead with my tail between my legs. Back by 2 pm, and naturally the rain had stopped by then. With a few hours to burn, I drove on up to Artist Point for a short hike to Table Mountain. Previously been up it, but that was in the winter many moons ago. The dusk descent from the summit directly to Bagley Lakes marked the culmination of a ripper day shredding laps out by Coleman Pinnacle! Alas, there'd be no shredding this time, just the untimely return of rain which shooed me off the summit for the second time that day. Back to the trailhead, whereupon surprise! it ceased raining again. And so over to Huntoon Point I go for no other reason that it being a named summit not 5-minutes from the parking lot. Got to the top, at which point yup, you guessed it, the rain returned. Back to the parking lot one final time and having run out of day and silly peaks to tag and especially my patience with the unpredictable weather, I did what I should have done hours ago and drove home!
Mount David is the highest mountain on the famed Poet's Ridge in Glacier Peak Wilderness. From Longfellow Mountain to the west, up and over Whittier Peak, Mount Jonathon and culminating with David on the east end, this ~6.2-kilometer-long ridge forms the divide between the Indian Creek Valley to the north and Cougar Creek Valley to the south. It stands directly south of Glacier Peak and the Dakobed Range, for me one of the scenic climaxes of the Washington Cascades. A fire lookout once graced the craggy summit where now just the outhouse "grotto" remains. A maintained trail starting from the White River Trailhead leads for some 5,800 feet over about 11 kilometers directly to the top and features a nice hike along a raging river, waterfalls, breathtaking ridge walking and of course outstanding 360-degree summit views with Glacier peak crowing it all! With all that in mind including fond memories of past trips in the area - Clark Mountain (x2) and the Dakobed Traverse - I set my sights on this as my next mini-escapade south of the 49th!
Drove up the afternoon prior, stopping to check out Deception Fallsdaviddaviddavid
along the way as doing so has somehow eluded me all these years, before pulling into one of the campgrounds situated along the White River for the night. The sky was tinged with a distinctive orange hue, obviously thanks to forest fires burning somewhere nearby. This was punctuated by the occasional clap of thunder overhead and served as a reminder that the forecast for the next several days was for afternoon thunderstorms. Raised the camper pop-top and turned in early hoping to get a jump on whatever weather instabilities were in the offing. Completed the short drive to the trailhead the following morning and set out across the footbridge spanning White River before turning left on the Mount David Trail. South along the river for ~1.5 kilometers before turning up for a steep grind to reach a low point on David's long SE Ridge. Tight switchbacks towards the top really got the blood pumping with trees beginning to thin and allowing for nice views overlooking White River Valley and peaks beyond.
The trail now continues along and just below the crest, following the path of least resistance by weaving right or left around the occasional crag otherwise blocking the way. Higher up, the trail makes a rising traverse into a large talus basin right of the crest before turning back up to regain the ridge. Repeated this pattern once more before completing the final bit now along the south and west sides of the peak to finally reach the summit. As expected, haze and smoke obscured the view on this day, as did the clouds which were beginning to accumulate on the neighboring mountaintops. Nonetheless, still able to clearly make out the entirety of Poet's Ridge to Whittier looking west with a blanket of marine clouds obscuring the lowlands beyond. Also, Glacier Peak, Tenpeak Mountain and the rest of the Dakobed Range showing up nicely to the north, and then finally a great albeit hazy view overlooking the SE Ridge with Lake Wenatchee peeking in the distance.
Spent about 35 minutes on top; located and briefly considered utilizing the "facilities" up there but ultimately decided against it - best to wait for the "can" down at the trailhead. Headed back the way I came, sans thunder or lightning or rain thankfully, detouring to see the White River Falls on the drive home - worth a look-see if you haven't yet! All-in-all, a very worthwhile and satisfying outing out and about in my old stomping grounds!
It would be very much appreciated if you please ask before copying and/or re-publishing content from any part of these pages. To do so, please click here to send a message via feedback form.
