Often overshadowed by Washington‘s fantastic national parks, Mt Baker is a bit less known and visited. It sits only 10 miles south of the Canadian border at the end of Highway 542. It takes about 3 hours to get there from Seattle but only 1.5 hours from Burlinton, WA. This means you can easily add Mt Baker to this awesome 10-day WA national park itinerary, between North Cascades and Olympic national parks… Read More
[Mt Baker, Sep 4, 2022] Chain Lakes Loop trail has it all – gorgeous views of Mt Baker and Mt Shuksan as well as a few beautiful alpine lakes along the way. The biggest challenge with it was picking a starting point and direction. Many people start this hike at Artist Point, which was where I started both Huntoon Point and Ptarmigan Ridge from. After reading a ton of Alltrails reviews, I… Read More
[Mt Baker, Sep 3, 2022] For my first full day at Mt Baker, I wanted to do the longer of the two trails on my list – Ptarmigan Ridge. It gets you ridiculously close to Mt Baker. However, it’s almost 12 miles roundtrip and the elevation gain is almost 2,500 ft. In other words, it’s not an easy trail! The trail began at the same spot, Artist Point, as yesterday’s little hike… Read More
[Deming, WA, Sep 2, 2022] For Labor Day 2022, I finally visited a national forest that had been on my list for almost a year – Mt Baker. Hiding near the Canadian border just 2 hours North of Seattle, Mt Baker is best known as a ski resort. The ski area is home to the world’s greatest recorded snowfall in one season, 1,140 inches (95 ft or 29 m), during the 1998–99… Read More
[Stanley, ID, Sep 5, 2021] If you venture only as far out as Ketchum, you will be missing one of the most scenic places in the United States. The Sawtooth Wilderness north and west of Ketchum is a federally-protected 217,000-acre area with 40 trails and over 350 miles. The Sawtooths are part of the Rocky Mountain range and contain more than 50 peaks over 10,000 ft. The closest town to the wilderness… Read More