Excelsior Pass attempt

I was so happy that finally, mid-June, the Senior Trailblazers would leave the Chuckanuts behind and drive up the Mt. Baker Highway to check out Excelsior Pass. Ken Wilcox, in "Hiking Whatcom County," gave this description of the hike:

There are two approaches to this extensive alpine ridge. ... Both lead to exceptional meadows and good views of Mt. Baker, the North Cascades, and peaks of the B.C. coastal range. ... Note that the snow on north-facing slopes takes longer to melt, which means the longer south route may be mostly snow free several weeks earlier than the north.

Well, ten of us headed up the highway to try out the longer south-facing route. This is what it looked like for a couple of miles, lots of green and really lovely, other than the fact that the sun didn't shine on us all day. No matter, it wasn't raining, which is always a plus. The hike begins at an altitude of 1,850 feet, and we didn't run into snow until we had trekked to right around 3,700 feet.

You can see the trail is becoming obscured by snow, but we figured we could get quite a bit higher, using Al's GPS tracking device to stay on or near the trail. However, by the time we reached 4,200 feet, the trail began to be less and less visible. We tried to break through some of the more dangerous looking snow, in order to make it safer for others, as well as for us on our return journey.

Here is Al breaking through the snow to the trail, but it wasn't long before the trail was only visible by pink streamers that had been placed by some intrepid hikers who went out some time before us and made it all the way to the ridge, I'll bet. By the time noon rolled around, we were still 900 feet from the top, because hiking through snow is slow going, and we made a decision to have lunch and decide what to do afterwards.

If you enlarge this picture, you can see the pink marker that was our only indication of a way to the ridge. As you might have guessed, once we had our lunch break, we decided to head back down through the snow to the trailhead and our cars. Fortunately we were able to follow our own tracks and were never in any danger of getting lost. I saw this really beautiful moss-covered rock on our way back down, with ferns strategically placed as if positioned by a guiding hand.

What amazes me is how everything grows so profusely in this part of the world. The rain helps, of course, and the low altitude, but I am constantly astonished at the beauty I am able to appreciate every single time we hike into the wilderness. Not to mention being in the company of good friends who are always filled with the same pleasure and joy that I feel when being together in the wilderness.

We covered only 5.5 miles and 2,600 feet in elevation gain and loss. We did agree that the snow for the second half of the hike made it seem twice as long. We didn't really have an incentive to make it all the way to the top, since the clouds would obscure any possible view. It really didn't make or break our hike; it has been a good day. Thanks for sharing it with me.
:-)