[olderthanIusedtobe]

I'd gotten just on the cusp of the ridge once before via Skyline Divide, but have had some lingering curiosity about it. I haven't been out to the Mt. Baker Hwy for several years, so I was long overdue. Didn't even realize til I started poking around on the internet that you can't drive to the Skyline Divide TH currently. I'd been curious about Cougar Divide for quite a while, so decided to finally give that a try. It was a stunningly nice fall day. I wanted to get up on a ridge with some good views, mission accomplished. There was more wandering around in the trees than I expected, but a few views off and on and then into the clear for good toward the end. It seemed like there were more cars at the TH than there were people on the trail. Talked to one grouse hunter and a pair of goat hunters. I knew there weren't a lot of tags issued for goats, but I didn't realize just how exclusive it is. The guy had been applying for tags for 30 years, finally got his name drawn. And it's a one shot deal, he'll never be able to get goat tags again. Anyway...trail fades out, fairly easy route finding continuing uphill to hit the ridge. A bit tedious on some loose junk, plus I'm out of shape. But I got there. Wasn't intending to summit Hadley Peak, but did continue just a bit further on the boot path up there just to see the view from around the next corner or two. Really glad to be out that way again finally. I intended to hike the next day as well, was car bivied at Hannegan Pass TH. But woke up in the middle of the night, couldn't fall back to sleep and it was too early to start walking. Got bored and frustrated, decided to bag it and drive home. Opportunity lost, but oh well. On to some pics. First good view.

Nearing the end of the trail.

More glaciation around Hadley than I previously realized was there.

Shuksan

crest of the ridge and view of Baker

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Reading about it, the road is kind of infamous. It's not that bad for the most part, but a few sections are sketchy, and you would NOT want to meet an oncoming car there. The biggest issue was lots of blind corners. The parking area is small. I pulled in around 11 am on a Friday and got just about the last spot. I didn't count, but probably space for only 8-10 cars. And this is not the kind of road where you can park on the shoulder anywhere for a 1/2 mi or mile downhill from the TH. edit--yeah, lots of downed trees on the trail too; some easy to step over, some not so much

[jaysway]

Beautiful fall colors. Despite being close to Skyline Divide, I appreciate the different perspectives from Cougar Divide.

[timberghost]

See any mountain goats?

[olderthanIusedtobe]