The Mt. Baker area is our favorite place to hike, especially when under snow. All of our hiking buddies bailed on this one because of the long drive! But it is worth it in this kind of weather.
We were not sure of a destination until arriving at the Baker ski area. We decided to go to Herman Saddle again (last January went to Mazama Dome), but continue to Chain Lakes and check out the approach to Barometer Mt. And what a great choice this was! We were expecting crusty, icy conditions....but instead there was a 4 inch layer of fresh, sugary snow, over a hard base. We used snowshoes to get to the saddle, but really didn't need them. We decided to remove the snowshoes to plunge step down the west side of Herman Saddle, and left them off for the rest of the trip.
Iceberg and Chain Lakes were very pretty! After crossing the isthmus between them we meandered over some bumps, went across a meadow, and them climbed up to a 5200ft. HP, from where we had a good view of Barometer. We probably could have made it to the summit and out before dark, but decided we would rather be home by 6:30PM instead of 8:30, or later. This is an extremely scenic hike, and would make a nice overnight trip, with the possibility of summiting Herman or Barometer.
Bagley Creek and Table Mt.
Morning near Bagley Lakes
Bob approaching Herman Saddle, Mazama Dome beyond.
Mt. Shuksan from Herman Saddle
Mt. Baker from Herman Saddle
Mt. Baker and Iceberg Lake
Mt. Baker from west side of Herman Saddle
Mazama Dome and mini dome
Chain Lake and Barometer Mt.
Tomyhoi and American Border Pk
Iceberg Lake, Ptarmigan Ridge
Table Mt. and pyramid of Shuksan from HP 5200.
Table Mt.
Returning to Herman Saddle
Distance: 8 miles RT
Elevation gain: 2300 ft.
This thing called work is interfering with my play
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This thing called work is interfering with my play
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