[Tom]

Day 0: Left home around 2 PM and picked up permits at the Sedro Woolley ranger station before it closed at 4:30. Dinner at DQ. Dropped Ed's truck at the Baker Lake trailhead, and car camped just before the Watson Lakes trailhead. Had a nice campfire while watching shooting stars. Day 1: Mike and I were roused by Ed at 8 AM who had been awake for a couple hours. After a very sluggish gear consolidation and packing session, we were finally on the trail by 10 AM. Headed cross country to Upper Anderson, then around Mt Watson, wowed by the slabs and many pools and lakes left by the receding glacier. After many picture breaks we finally reached the pass above Diobsud Lakes. While descending the steep and somewhat exposed gully to the lakes, Ed sprained his ankle quite badly. Upon reaching the uppermost lake, Mike's hamburger feet (pre-tenderized from an earlier week long trip) also needed relief, so we stopped here at around 4 PM and set up camp. The Diobsuds are nothing to write home about, but fortunately the bugs were not bad... until the next morning. Day 2: Awoke to lots of dew and condensation. After an hour or so of drying out in the sun, we were finally packed and on the way to Bacon Peak. Beckey's directions proved quite confusing (other than the bit about brushy ramps). The black flies multiplied exponentially as we traversed the brush in the hot morning sun, making things quite unpleasant. Upon reaching the creek we gave up on Beckey's directions and headed for the small tarns. Upon reaching the lower tarn, Mike evaluated his hamburger feet and reluctantly concluded he could not continue and would have to bail. After divvying gear, Ed and I said goodbye to Mike and continued steeply up to Bacon Peak, reaching the summit a little after 7 PM. A glance at the soggy summit register indicated we were the first to open it this year (although the last entry was undated). After leaving the register under a tin can to dry out overnight, we found a nice flat spot to camp just beneath the summit, thankful we would not have to sleep on a bed of cold snow. Day 3: Hastily awakened by Ed at 7 AM who indicated snow was quickly turning to slush and recommended we get going down the glacier as soon as possible. His morning recon indicated only one feasible route that might avoid significant crevasse exposure. After packing quickly we started to head down. It dawned on us that we not only forgot to sign the register but also left it out to dry. Ed offered to go back and take care of business while I snapped a few pictures. While waiting for Ed to return I noted another possible route zagging through a gully up the wall directly north. I convinced Ed to take a gamble on this route and in hindsight it may have been the only feasible route down. Crampons were still a must as some sections were quite icy, but we were able to maintain a safe distance from any visible crevasses. After a long descent, many oohs, aahs, and camera clicks we reached the meadows above Green Lake, and were rudely greeted by the swarms of black flies. Instead of dropping to the lake we decided to traverse high which would afford better picture taking opportunities. We gorged on blueberries while swatting flies, snapping pictures, and panting in sweltering heat while huffing up and down the bumps above the lake. We continued on to Nert Lake, reaching the shores by 4 PM. Exhausted from the heat, we decided to drop pack here, take a swim, and hike to the bump above the lake (hoping for views but were most disappointed). It was getting too late to continue on so we set up camp and cooked dinner, swarmed by flies. To escape the onslaught we inflated rafts and ate dinner afloat in the middle of the lake. Day 4: After letting things air out in the morning, we packed up and headed to Berdeen. In hindsight we probably could have made it to the large meadows below Berdeen the previous night, but noting evidence of "large" bear scat, perhaps it was better we didn't. Before the steep vegetable belay up to Berdeen we ate lunch and peeked around the corner to Lower Berdeen. It is hard to describe the feeling of standing on the shores of Berdeen, other than to say it evoked emotions deep from within. We were glad we brought rafts as the shoreline is more difficult to navigate than it would appear from photos. After a leisurely raft to the inlet we continued on to the upper lake and then the glacier that would be our exit route. Looking up to the crumbling glacier we had significant concerns about whether the route out was feasible. The only possible way seemed to be to traverse the northern edge strewn with refrigerator boulders and frequent rockfall. Sunlight was fading quickly and Ed suggested heading back to Berdeen to camp but I was concerned we would not be able to get out the next day unless we pushed on. After debating the pros and cons, we donned crampons and ice axes and briskly headed up the icy glacier, getting past the rockfall just in time to hear a fresh release come down. Upon reaching our exit point, we breathed a huge sigh of relief and exchanged high fives. We continued on toward the summit of Blum and were relieved to find a nice flat spot to camp high on the ridge south of Blum. After feasting on our last dinner, we were enticed by a phenomenal sunset, northern lights, and the twinkle of distant city lights, staying up quite late. Day 5: We awoke relatively early with plans to summit Blum. It wasn't clear whether the ridge route from camp was feasible, so we opted to play it safe and descend to 5748'. From here we would dayhike the summit via Beckey's proven route. On the descent to 5748' we encountered some significant exposure and got cliffed out. On top of this, we experienced an hour of separation due to a mis-communication, and we each began to worry the other had fallen off a cliff trying to find a way down. In reality, we were not far from each other, but the cliffs were drowning out our calls. After finally hooking back up, Ed indicated he had found a way down. After reaching 5748' our desire to bag the summit waned. Throughout this trip it seemed every time we thought the worst was behind us, an even greater challenge would arise, and neither of us were in the mood for rolling the dice again after the harrowing separation. We decided to take it easy for the rest of the trip, not push our limits, and get home at a reasonable hour. After all, we would need something to look forward to next time... As usual, I took too many pictures to cull to a reasonable number.

Ed Along Watson Lake Trail

Watson Lakes From Above

Upper Anderson Outlet

Upper Anderson Lake

Upper Watson From Above

Pools along Watson Traverse

Red Algae Tarn Along Watson Traverse

Looking Up To Mt Watson

Ed and Bacon Peak

Glacial Tarn Outlet on Mt Watson

Small Glacial Tarn on Mt Watson

Larger Tarn & Elementary Peak

Ice on Large Glacial Tarn

Another Glacial Tarn on Watson

Waterfall Coming Down Bacon Peak

4478' Diobsud Lake

4439' Diobsud Lake

5430' Tarns Below Bacon Peak

Looking Down to Lower Diobsuds

Unmapped Lakes at 5240' on Bacon

Electric Butte And Another Unmapped Lake

Pickets Behind Canadian Bacon (all red meat)

Shuksan Enroute To Bacon

Ed Traversing Below False Summit

360 Panorama From Bacon Peak

Snowking and Glacier Peak From Bacon

Shuksan and Eventual Route Down Up Gap

Swiss Cheeze Glacier

Berdeen and Pickets

Ed Descending Bacon

Looking Back to Route Down

Baker from Bacon

Green, Berdeen, and Pickets

Glacial Tarns at 5700'

More Green, Berdeen, and Pickets

Green Lake

Green and Bacon Laken

Waterfalls into Green

Green Lake Pano

Waterfalls Below Berdeen

Nert Lake (4556')

Lake 5354'

Green Eggs and Bacon

Ed and Green Lake Outlet

Meadow Below Berdeen

Pools Below Berdeen Outlet

Outfall into Lower Berdeen

Outfall to Lower Berdeen

Lower Berdeen

Waterfall Outlet From Berdeen

Approaching Berdeen

Berdeen Pano From Shore

Ed Rafting Berdeen

Hagen, Lonely Peak, and Native Knoll From Raft

Berdeen From Inlet

Upper Berdeen and Lonesome Peak

Meadows Above Berdeen

Berdeen Lake and Interloper Peak

Native Knoll, Interloper Peak, and Berdeen Lakes

Rockfall On Glacier Route Out

Berdeen From Ridge to Blum

Hagen At Sunset

5748' Blum From Above

Approaching 5748' Blum

5748' Blum From Outlet

Outlet from 5748' Blum

Blum Lake From Above

Blum Lake From Outlet

Lower Blum Lake

Baker Lake From Above

[Tazz]

very nice job guys

[Tom]

Here's a few action shots complements of Ed. I'm sure he has a few more goodies.

Looking to Avoid Crevasses

Clamps and Ice Axe

Looking Across to Baker

Rafting Berdeen

Safely Above Hagan Glacier, Phew!

[Dayhike Mike]

Yep. Terrible place. Never go there. BTW - Tom, you make it look pretty appealing. Little do they know the horror that awaits.

[Trevor]

I was truly anticipating this tr, thanks. A lakebagger's utopia.

[naturealbeing]

I knew this was going to happen sooner or later, I'm having a sensory system overload and it's all your fault Tom. Your lack of compassion in posting so many incredible shots at once has sent me over the top. I will probably never recover unless I experience that same trip myself. I tip my hat to you guys, that will probably go down as the best 5 day trip of this year. Its got my vote. If there's a better one bring it on and we will see. BTW, I think there might be a 12 step program for people that have a compulsive picture posting disorder. I'd google it if I were you.

[wildernessed]

. Terrific and inspiring !

[Tom]

[Kimmy]

Incredible pictures.... and I was just about to give up hiking! I want to see Berdeen! Thanks for sharing , fantastic pics!

[Don]

[Edd]

Damn, nice pics Tom. Mine don't quite compare. Still don't quite have the eye for detail or composure. Learning though. Might take me awhile but I think I might be able to find one or two that you didn"t get. Had a great time though, along with a few anxious moments that only made the trip more memorable. Edit. Here are some pics, not nescesarially in any order.

shuksan

sunset from bacon

Tom skirting glacier on bacon

outlet from bacon laken

Baker close up

glacial terminus

baker sunrise

green

berdeen

the wall

bacon and green

silt contributor

[Dayhike Mike]

[Eric]

Lovely pics. I wouldn't kick Berdeen outta bed or nothin but I reckon ole Green is the purtier of the two at least to my untrained eye. THat lake just looks like an unreal shade of aqua, like one of those black and white movies that Ted Turner had gone back and colorized in an over the top fashion. Lakebagger daydreams on an acid trip or something.

[sooperfly]

Very nice.. looks like another place to add to the list.

[Larry]

The mythical and mystical Berdeen. Simply outrageous Tom and Ed. GREAT report.