Twig Adventures

Saturday, August 13th, 2022, 0730-2030Baker Lake Road to FR 313, WEBO mm 881, Section 7 North Cascades31.5 miles, Gain 6273′, Loss 4540′, elevation 2630′ Dan gave all of us a ride back to the trailhead early in the morning. We picked up Karaoke at the motel, where she stayed for a second night. At least we were efficient in consolidating the ride so he didn’t have to make several trips. It was incredibly nice of him to take us so far…probably about 30 minutes one way. We offered gas money but he wouldn’t take it. Again, I offered my free Te Araroa consultation services… it’s something. The route started off on a very nice closed forest path but all too soon[…]

Thursday, August 11th, 2022, 0620-1530Mt Baker Hot Springs to Baker Lake Road, WEBO mm 849.7, Section 7 North Cascades25.7 miles, Gain 2520′, Loss 2970′, elevation 890′ It was hard not to be too eager about getting into a real town this day. I had a lot of miles to go…a full day.  Thinking only about town can ruin the joy of a day of hiking, causing me to rush. But after so many days without real food and a shower, we were all a bit eager. I actually didn’t feel too gross, given all my water baths. I could have probably gone another 10 days. But I also very much wanted my trekking poles back. The clunky aluminum poles that I’d[…]

Wednesday, August 10th, 2022, 0945-1700Mt Baker HWY to Mt Baker Hot Springs, WEBO mm 824, Section 7 North Cascades19.6 miles, Gain 3520′, Loss 4200′, elevation 1330′ It was a day of all things Mt Baker. First I awoke to a sunlit valley with Mt Baker overseeing the realm. I heard a bald eagle chuckling down along the river. We hung around the camp for awhile in the morning. Then David picked us up, ready to deliver us back to the trail. I think he was a little sad that none of us took him up on his generous offer to take a zero at Camp Baldy. It was no knock against his place. He just didn’t quite understand how us thru[…]

Tuesday, August 9th, 2022, 0615-1700Twin Rocks camp NCNP to (near) Mt Baker HWY, WEBO mm 802, Section 7 North Cascades22.6 miles, Gain 6060′, Loss 6400′, elevation 2400′ Despite my late and tedious night, I was up and at ’em like usual. We tackled the rest of the river valley as a team, which made it more palatable. We didn’t have far to go for the climb over Whatcom Pass, but there were more blowdowns, washouts, and thick undergrowth to push through. Not to mention an encounter with an overly standoffish juvenile black bear. He stood his ground when Wolverine approached, barely lifted a paw when I added my presence, and finally started moving down the hill when Karaoke appeared. Young ones[…]

Monday, August 8th, 2022, 1030-2045Ross Lake Resort to Twin Rocks camp NCNP, WEBO mm 779.3, Section 7 North Cascades26 miles, Gain 4200′, Loss 3200′, elevation 2750′ It was a bit noisy at camp overnight but nothing some earplugs and general exhaustion couldn’t handle. Someone was playing a guitar as I drifted off, which honestly sounded quite nice. I took my plugs out mid-morning, only to be woken by a neighbor banging pots around, as well as talking (to herself?). I assumed she’d gotten up early to start breakfast for her group but then noted it was only 3 am. I put my plugs back in and went to sleep. So did she apparently, as we hikers were the only ones awake[…]

Sunday, August 7th, 2022, 0630-1800Devils Pass to Green Point Camp via Jackita Trail, WEBO mm 755.5, Section 6 Pasayten Wilderness 24 miles, Gain 3900′, Loss 8400′, elevation 1970′ We’d decided to take an alternate route this day, based on comments in FarOut and from Buck30’s blog. The Jackita ridge was really talked up by previous hikers, sounding like it was more scenic. The fact that it was about 5 miles shorter was also helpful but not the primary motivation. All 4 of us had decided to take it. I felt a little responsible for pushing the idea originally, so I hoped it wasn’t a bust. It’s not an official alternate shown on FarOut but at least we all had GPS enabled[…]

Saturday, August 6th, 2022, 0610-1930Chuchuwanteen Trail Camp to Devils Pass, WEBO mm 725.6, Section 6 Pasayten Wilderness 28.8 miles, Gain 7070′, Loss 6510′, elevation 6120′ The Pacific Crest Trail was a dream. It’s still, to this day, my most perfect trail and the only one I can confidential say I would re-hike. This day I got to relive that dream, if only for 13 glorious miles. We got an early start and were shortly at the top of Frosty Pass. It was cold in the valley we came from (a record low for the trip of 33 degrees!) but warmed up nicely once the sun hit…so the pass didn’t quite live up to its name. The trail was in much[…]

Friday, August 5th, 2022, 0610-1900Barker Brown’s Trail Camp to Chuchuwanteen Trail Camp, WEBO mm 697, Section 6 Pasayten Wilderness 24 miles, Gain 3720′, Loss 6050′, elevation 4570′ It was 36 degrees inside my tent when I woke! I never expected such low temperatures when we’d just been experiencing heat index warnings. It was also overcast but at least it wasn’t raining. A breeze had wiped away any condensation but was also stealing my heat. My efforts to stuff my vents had worked a little though. It was definitely colder outside my tent. My thermometer reached 34 after jostling around a bit. Good for my 30 degree quilt! I didn’t even have to put on my puffy overnight, staying just warm[…]

Thursday, August 4th, 2022, 0610-1830Fireplace Camp to Barker Brown’s Trail Camp, WEBO mm 673, Section 6 Pasayten Wilderness 30.6 miles, Gain 5380′, Loss 5470′, elevation 6900′ If it weren’t just coming on the heels of several spectacular days in Glacier NP, today would have felt pretty epic. It was still a great day. I was off to a chilly early start to meet up with Wolverine in the morning. My thermometer read 46 degrees…the coldest it had been in a long time and certainly quite the turn around from the 100’s only 2 days before. I walked fast and was quickly in sight of her. She seemed somewhat apologetic or uneasy about our separation overnight…I couldn’t quite tell. She shouldn’t[…]

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2022, 0830-1900Rattlesnake Gulch to Fireplace Camp, WEBO mm 642.4, Section 6 Pasayten Wilderness 26.2 miles, Gain 7900′, Loss 2110′, elevation 7000′ In the morning, we repeated our car ride to just past Loomis, courtesy of Kevin. Thus began a day of many miles of climbing with a very heavy pack. We each had 5 days of food…which was actually the bare minimum considering the 140 miles we needed to hike before our next resupply. We’d need to average 28 miles a day and already I was fairly certain I’d fall short of the goal this day. We didn’t get the earliest start and it was hot as we made our way up a dry exposed dirt road.[…]