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boot up Old Not Bold Hiker
Joined: 12 Dec 2006 Posts: 4745 | TRs | Pics Location: Bend Oregon |
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boot up
Old Not Bold Hiker
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Sun Sep 02, 2007 10:51 pm
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Its a long drive from my Kirkland home to Mt Baker, so I usually seem to end up on Rainier, which is closer. But I kept hearing about Shuksan and Lake Ann and figured I would see if it was worth the drive.
It was worth the drive.
We hit the trailhead after accumulating a carpool over several stops. Didn't hit the trail until 9am. I left my house a bit after 5:30am to get there. Only a couple of cars in the lot at that hour and the weather was breaking up nicely already into "partly cloudy". I wasn't sure what to expect with previous reports from fairly recently talking about snowfields and many stream/creek crossings.
We did go prepared for wading, carrying river shoes, and I took a LOT of flak for THAT dead weight. Creek crossings were all easy rock hops or almost dry beds. The couple of tiny snowfields were nothing compared to Rainier a few weeks before. The only sketchy spot was the scree scramble to get around the small ridge near the "end" of the hiker's trail heading up to the foot of the Curtis Glacier. We stopped before the final much sketchier snowfield and the trail turning into more of a climbers scramble. I am not one for major exposure, scrambling over rotten granite that slides into oblivion. We saw a couple of other people cross that spot. One person did a walk in the park, then his wife froze in terror halfway across. YMMV.
Views were well worth the hike on a nice day. We had planned to do another hike on the same day, but the detours and dawdling just ate up the day. Lunch overlooking Lake Ann, looking towards Shuksan, bolted us down way too long and once we made the scree scramble it was hard to leave, and the sound of rumbling glacier kept us looking for action on the glacier. An eagle soaring in the heights kept us a bit entertained, as did the bear at the very start. We watched some climbers up on the saddle of Shuksan (find one in the photo and rope to the other one). Blueberries were tasty.
The trail took a lot of focus for us old geezers for most of the hike, varying between mud and loose granite for most of the way. So with the need to focus on where we placed our feet and the competing wonderful views, progress was not especially fast on what we figure was only a total 10.2 miles and my watch said 2700 feet of total elevation gain.
LOTS of backpackers were coming in throughout the day. The lake must look like a suburban cul-de-sac at night!
I WILL go back again!
High cirrus clouds above Mt Shuksan darn tourists, interupting my huckleberry breakfast Lake Ann, between Shucksan and Mt Baker Lake Ann, between Shucksan and Mt Baker Mt Shuksan glaciers Mt Shuksan, Lower Curtis glacier close Lower Curtis Glacier, Mt Shuksan Mt Baker with Lake Ann and flowers in the foreground Mt Shucksan, over Lake Ann Shuksan Baker lake and the valley below the Lower Curtis glacier from Shuksan Find the climber on Mt Shuksan
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Elvis Shuffl'n
Joined: 09 Jun 2004 Posts: 1804 | TRs | Pics Location: del Boca Vista |
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Elvis
Shuffl'n
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Sun Sep 02, 2007 10:59 pm
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Excellent! Great photos... great trip!
I've been planning on visiting Lk Ann on Sept 9th... but the road closure has thrown a kink into my itinerary.
~E
"Ill habits gather unseen degrees, as brooks make rivers, rivers run to seas." ~John Dryden
My Trip List
"Ill habits gather unseen degrees, as brooks make rivers, rivers run to seas." ~John Dryden
My Trip List
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payton Member
Joined: 11 Jul 2006 Posts: 188 | TRs | Pics
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payton
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Mon Sep 03, 2007 8:55 pm
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Nice pictures! We were just there today but it wasn't nearly as nice with the overcast skies and clouds obscuring the top of Shuksan. There was also apparently a bear hanging around today too, as some other hikers spotted it on the slopes beyond the lake. Unfortunately, we couldn't find it when we got there. Where exactly did you see your bear? I wonder if it is the same one. I think we'll have to go back again on a nicer day.
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Bryan K Shameless Peakbagger
Joined: 29 Sep 2005 Posts: 5129 | TRs | Pics Location: Alaska |
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Bryan K
Shameless Peakbagger
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Mon Sep 03, 2007 8:57 pm
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Great pictures. I can't get enough of close up glacier pics
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boot up Old Not Bold Hiker
Joined: 12 Dec 2006 Posts: 4745 | TRs | Pics Location: Bend Oregon |
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boot up
Old Not Bold Hiker
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Mon Sep 03, 2007 10:14 pm
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payton wrote: | Nice pictures! We were just there today but it wasn't nearly as nice with the overcast skies and clouds obscuring the top of Shuksan. There was also apparently a bear hanging around today too, as some other hikers spotted it on the slopes beyond the lake. Unfortunately, we couldn't find it when we got there. Where exactly did you see your bear? I wonder if it is the same one. I think we'll have to go back again on a nicer day. |
First valley on the Lake Ann Trail...where we saw the bear
We saw the bear as we broke out of the trees into the first valley. It crossed the trail and wandered down to the floor of the valley and into the small trees in the valley. A pretty mellow dude really, just eating his berry breakfast and the bear was timid enough that we didn't feel nervous. It looked pretty young too.
We definitely lucked out on the weather! Just enough clouds to add interest to the sky and keep from being baked on Baker, but not enough to obscure anything, although having a polarizer helped cut through the moisture laden haze.
Lake Ann reflection
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