Forum Index > Trip Reports > Tripping on the Past: Mt Baker, 8/24/2002
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Mesahchie Mark
A Lerxst



Joined: 10 May 2005
Posts: 700 | TRs | Pics
Location: In Wonderland
Mesahchie Mark
A Lerxst
PostTue Jan 17, 2017 5:12 pm 
Mt Baker 8/24/2002 Early on, I was completely focused on climbing the Cascade volcanoes, starting with a fascination with Rainier. My unsuccessful bid with RMI gave me the confidence to be a self-sufficient climber, but also taught me that I needed more experience. Climbing Hood just two weeks later was a huge success and took some of the Rainier bitterness out of my mouth. I quickly became obsessed with climbing Mt Baker. It would take me three tries to climb Baker. The first try was with my partner from the Mt Hood trip, Dan, via the Easton glacier. We took the Mt Hood midnight start plan and applied it again. It was a beautiful night with a near full moon. The moonlight was so bright that headlamps were superfluous. Things were going well until we got to a fork in the trail. Our unfamiliarity with the route would be our undoing - we took the right fork, thinking that would take us to the Railroad Grade, but instead it sent us going the opposite direction! We spent an hour on the wrong trail before coming to the conclusion we were off track. By the time we got back to the fork, we had lost 2 hours and our momentum - the trip was over. For attempt #2, I went solo for the Easton glacier route, with the same midnight start plan. I made it to the Railroad grade, and the glacier, where I encountered a group of climbers from Georgia. I joined up with them and togehter we continued climbing up the glacier. The weather was not in our favor, however. It was like we were climbing into a cloudbank, and I seem to recall some precipitation, maybe even snow. At some point, three of the Georgia climbers gave up and headed back to their tents, while I continued on with the last guy from the group. We lasted about another hour until we encountered some steep terrain. Low visibility made navigation impossible, so once again I reluctantly turned back. Attempt #3 was a change of routes and partners. The route was the Colman-Deming glacier route, and my partner was Matt, the guy who started TNAB. Matt had climbed Baker before, but I think his girlfriend was out-of-town for the weekend and he was looking for something to do. I was happy he agreed to climb with me. We left the Eastside on Friday afternoon and headed north. Traffic, even with the carpool lane, was suck. We stopped in Bellingham at a drugstore to pick up a sleeping pad, and I got a sub for dinner. From there, we drove east on Hwy 542 past Glacier to NF Road 39 and on to the Heliotrope trailhead. We got to the camp area ahead of sunset, a couple hundred feet below the glacier. The weather was good, so we were camping open bivy style, just a sleeping bag on a pad. My sub got squished in my pack, but still tasted good after the hike in. As we settled in for the night, Matt quickly discovered that the camp was over-run with mice. They were trying to get into his sleeping bag - while he was in it! I do not recall sleeping well that night. I did not have much experience camping, and I was excited about the climb. We woke early to get a good start. It was going to be a warm day and we did not want to get fried on the glacier. We roped up proper, and Matt took the lead. The lower portion of the glacier had gaping crevasses, but the trail was well established, so no obstacles were encountered. Matt, ever the shutterbug, took lots of pics.
Sunrise (photo by Matt Knapp)
Sunrise (photo by Matt Knapp)
Crossing Crevasses (photo by Matt Knapp)
Crossing Crevasses (photo by Matt Knapp)
We kept up a good pace. In fact, it felt like Matt was pulling me up the mountain at some points! Eventually, we crested the Roman Wall and I was getting summit fever...only to realize the true summit was still a 1/4 mile away! It seemed to take an eternity to reach that bump. And then, finally - summit achieved!
Sherman Peak
Sherman Peak
Baker Lake
Baker Lake
Summit Area
Summit Area
Matt Summit Pose
Matt Summit Pose
Shuksan (photo by Matt Knapp)
Shuksan (photo by Matt Knapp)
Mark and Matt Summit (photo by Matt Knapp)
Mark and Matt Summit (photo by Matt Knapp)
We took more pics and lounged a bit. They views were great. Too bad I could only recognize the volcanoes back then! And we were not alone - seems there were several parties on top of the mountain that day. One guy near us in particular dug out a pipe and pouch of tobacco and proceeded to enjoy a celebratory smoke. All too soon, we were heading back down to camp. We moved fast to stay ahead of the heat. I recall slipping on an icy area that caught my attention, and nearer to camp, I think I might have found a small crevasse under the slushy snow as I was sinking past my knees. Back at camp, Matt was dismayed to find that animals had found his stash of tea and food that he had buried in the snow and hidden under a rock. Scraps were scattered everywhere. Fortunately, they didn't find the beer!
Victory Beers! (photo by Matt Knapp)
Victory Beers! (photo by Matt Knapp)

Cheers, Mesahchie Mark
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puzzlr
Mid Fork Rocks



Joined: 13 Feb 2007
Posts: 7216 | TRs | Pics
Location: Stuck in the middle
puzzlr
Mid Fork Rocks
PostTue Jan 17, 2017 6:59 pm 
A nice look back. I didn't notice the date until the end. I was thinking, this isn't the Mesahchie Mark I know!

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