Spent a couple-three days in early September doing the vanlife thing and hiking with my SO out in the Mount Baker backcountry. First up on the agenda was a quick late-afternoon rip up to Yellow Aster Butte (YAB). This was my second time kicking dirt up the Tomyhoi Lake Trail, having skipped YAB on the first visit and instead continued on to bag Tomyhoi Peak. Beautiful area as always-good trails, excellent scenery, and all that-except I always seem to visit toward the end of summer or into fall, when fire-smoke season is often at its peak. At least this part of the North Cascades is much closer to home than it was back in 2003 when I was still Seattle-based, and despite the limited distance views on this day, it's hard to beat the view-to-effort ratio on this one.

We didn't get started until shortly after 3 p.m., but with the extended summer daylight we didn't need to rush. We left the main trail at the junction a bit over 2.5 kilometres in, shortly before Gold Run Pass, then traversed along the south side of YAB to reach a dirt platform low on the west shoulder of Peak 6148. The spur trail branching left toward a collection of small lakelets below was the route we'd followed en route to Tomyhoi all those years ago. This time, we turned right, climbing a series of tight switchbacks to the top of 6148. A short descent to a saddle followed, then an easy stroll along a well-defined trail to the summit proper, only about half a kilometer away.

A wonderful 360-degree panorama awaited us on top, with the Border Peaks-Larrabee Group hard to miss to the north. Goat Mountain also showed nicely to the southeast, with Mount Shuksan visible behind despite the smoky haze. About 2.5 hours one-way at a casual pace, we were back at the trailhead by 8 p.m., with just enough daylight left to make it to a nearby campground before nightfall. All told, YAB made for a near-perfect late-afternoon outing: straightforward access, delightful terrain, and big views for modest effort. Smoke or not, it's easy to see why this area remains so popular, and why it keeps drawing me back even after multiple visits. A solid way to kick off a few relaxed days of wandering around Bakerland.

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