Mt. Baker and the North Cascades, WA

Millions of years ago, deep down in the Pacific ocean a mountain range was created. Over millennia, this range collided and merged with the North American continent. A rugged terrain embellished with fiery volcanoes and peaks came to be known as the North Cascade Range located in Washington State (National Park Service, 2021). Be witness to unparalleled beauty, which makes this area such a unique scenery!

For the local Native American tribes, Mount Kulshan, also known as Mount Baker, is sacred. It towers at 10, 781′ / 3286 meters, making it the highest peak in the Northern Cascades. An active stratovolcano covered with deep glaciers, located near the Canadian border and inside the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest , this mountain is surrounded by astounding beauty. It had its last major eruption near 7000 years ago, but is presently active, and faint steam clouds can be seen periodically coming out from its crater (USGS, 2021).

We had visited some of the other famous volcanoes in the area, including notorious Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier and also Mt. Hood, in Oregon, all part of the North and South Cascade Range. We had visited Mt. Baker and its surroundings, all part of the North Cascades National Forest several times, that included camping, skiing, hiking, and also flying over the whole area. We explored Baker Lake, Lake Shannon and the town of Concrete. For this post, we’ll like to specifically write about a certain hiking route that we enjoyed, the Heliotrope Ridge.

This particular hike, one of our favorites, is part of one of the climbing routes to summit Mount Baker. It is located about 120 miles / 183 km. north of Seattle, near the small town of Glacier, and is part of a network of trailheads. I would recommend stopping first at the Glacier Visitor Center, an optimal starting point. The time when we went was a beautiful clear summer day. After parking the car, me and my family soon immersed ourselves in the woods. Red Cedars, Pine trees, Maple trees, Oaks, you name it! The trail is clear and very well maintained, fairly accessible to all fitness-types. After about three miles, there was the first creek, and the first clear view of the volcano. Hard to describe! The vast deep-green forest and the huge, white mountain crowning it. Bald Eagles circling the blinding blue sky. We were there!

Heliotrope Ridge, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. 2020

Soon after, we encounter moss-covered forests and waterfalls. We stopped at a second creek where the water ran much faster and deeper. Big boulders marked the creek above and below us. We had to take our hiking boots off and determine how safe the crossing was, and also consider (by doing guess work) if the creek would be crossable hours later, on the way back. Not too bad, I certainly noticed the face of my daughter while she crossed it 🙂 , the water was bitterly cold!

After a couple of miles, we reached the tree line, the altitude at which most trees stop growing. Now, the view was just unreal! A sea of blue mountains. At both sides of the trail flowers of all colors bloomed, contrasting with the greenery, and nearby in the background Mount Baker was there, splendid and majestic, now we were so close to it! Its ice wall was almost at hand’s reach. We took a long break, had lunch and took pictures. We then reached the glacier, We made it! And I could just have kept going, but I lost the majority vote 🙂 . What an incredible family hike! We headed back home!

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