Forum Index > Trip Reports > Blister 4/15/2012
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Stefan
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Stefan
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PostMon Apr 16, 2012 9:27 am 
I have no idea where the name Blister came up for this peak. This peak is between Crystal Creek, Pass Creek and the Baker River. It offers wonderful views somewhat similar in scope to Icy Peak...when you have completely clear skies. Tom, iron, r3h, Martin, Mike, Dave, and Matt all started at 7:30 from the Baker River trailhead. I was skeptical about crossing Sulphide Creek, but a recent report from a fellow nwhiker.net person calmed my fears. I had even brought rope for the potentially hazardous crossing. Well the forecast I saw was for beautiful blue skies....actually it was raining on the drive in! Now that ticked me off. We hiked to Sulphide Creek and it was quite benign, even so that we could cross on numerous logs without getting wet--but you had to find them. The abandoned trail on the other side is more or less directly across from the maintained trail....look for flagging. The abandoned trail ends at where the braiding of the river starts across from a large gully coming off of the nw arm of Mt. Blum. From here we mainly stayed inland working on snow over to Crystal Creek. 2.5 hours to here. We crossed Crystal Creek and followed the obvious animal path up and up until we came across wet mossy cliffs and then just went up and left. No problems whatsoever. We never even weaved through cliff bands we just stayed left and up. Somewhere around 1:00 we reached the top and somewhat views. As time progressed the views improved....and then the sun came out. Awesome! And then we reversed....I am sure other pictures from the other dudes will be mucho bettero than mine...My battery went out!

Art is an adventure.
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Matt
Tea, Earl Grey, Hot



Joined: 30 Jan 2007
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Matt
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PostMon Apr 16, 2012 10:49 am 
Thank you to Stefan for organizing this trip, and to the many others who broke trail. Blister turned out to be quite a wild viewpoint, looking across Pass Creek to the cliffs on Mineral Mountain and way up Picket Creek to Phantom Arm. Even though the clouds were reluctant to pull aside, most of the peaks made at least a brief appearance. The view straight across Crystal Creek to the rocky spine of Seahpo was especially good. Hiking in along Baker River past Lake, Sulphide & Crystal Creeks:
Blister in the distance up the Baker River
Blister in the distance up the Baker River
Mossy forest between Lake & Sulphide Creeks
Mossy forest between Lake & Sulphide Creeks
Bird swimming in Baker River
Bird swimming in Baker River
Walking in a side channel of the river
Walking in a side channel of the river
Mist rising off the snow under the trees
Mist rising off the snow under the trees
Conga line crossing Crystal Creek
Conga line crossing Crystal Creek
On the wide summit of Blister:
Waiting for clouds to clear at Blister summit (Mineral Mountain on right)
Waiting for clouds to clear at Blister summit (Mineral Mountain on right)
Seahpo and Jagged Ridge starting to emerge
Seahpo and Jagged Ridge starting to emerge
Views from the summit area, basically rotating clockwise from West to South:
Holy Cornices, Batman
Holy Cornices, Batman
Seapho & Nooksack Tower
Seapho & Nooksack Tower
Icy (barely visible) and Ruth
Icy (barely visible) and Ruth
Mineral Mountain
Mineral Mountain
Looking up Baker River to Perfect Pass and up Picket Creek to Phantom Arm
Looking up Baker River to Perfect Pass and up Picket Creek to Phantom Arm
Whatcom & Perfect Pass
Whatcom & Perfect Pass
Crooking Thumb & Phantom
Crooking Thumb & Phantom
Pioneer Ridge
Pioneer Ridge
Despair
Despair
Blum emerges
Blum emerges
A few more views on the way down:
Icy & Ruth
Icy & Ruth
The spine of Seahpo
The spine of Seahpo

“As beacons mountains burned at evening.” J.R.R. Tolkien
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twodogdad
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twodogdad
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PostMon Apr 16, 2012 12:55 pm 
I'd never go to a peak named "Blister" smile.gif Come to think of it, there are quite a few names that promise bad things-- Fury, Terror, Damnation, Devil's That or That, etc.--but "Blister" is just too close to home, right where the famous boot pinches. tdd

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raising3hikers
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raising3hikers
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PostMon Apr 16, 2012 1:54 pm 
Another great choice for a peak, Stefan. That whole area is just a great place to be in, from the big old growth cedars and mossy forest down in the valley to the views up on the mountain. The clouds moved around just enough to give us views that were worth the extra effort to get there.
the mossy rainforest
the mossy rainforest
part of the Baker River
part of the Baker River
at the Crystal Creek log crossing
at the Crystal Creek log crossing
almost at the Blister summit
almost at the Blister summit
the spine leading to Seahpo Peak and to the right is Nooksack Tower
the spine leading to Seahpo Peak and to the right is Nooksack Tower
getting ready to leave the summit
getting ready to leave the summit
a view to the North side of Despair
a view to the North side of Despair
Seahpo Pk
Seahpo Pk

Eric Eames
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Tom_Sjolseth
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Tom_Sjolseth
Born Yesterday
PostMon Apr 16, 2012 3:45 pm 
It was great to get back into this neck of the woods again. Fun group, fun time, and no blisters - well, just one.

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iron
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iron
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PostTue Apr 17, 2012 2:04 pm 
i just love green, mossy areas, and not many places compare to the baker lake area.
fern-lined baker lake trail
fern-lined baker lake trail
trekking along
trekking along
great colors in the river
great colors in the river
i think there's enough water for this tree
i think there's enough water for this tree
wet much?
wet much?
yep
yep
a braided bend
a braided bend
green chaos
green chaos
really green!
really green!
peaceful pond
peaceful pond
truckin'
truckin'
splintered
splintered
more green
more green
more moss
more moss
more truckin'
more truckin'
and some more
and some more
don't forget big trees.
a big one
a big one
another monster tree
another monster tree
and such lovely, colorful water.
missed a spot
missed a spot
a fine spot for a beer on a hot day
a fine spot for a beer on a hot day
or just dangling your feet in the water
or just dangling your feet in the water
hard to hike with these sights
hard to hike with these sights
fun to walk in the river a bit too. makes me wish i fished.
walking in the braided river instead of the brushy hillside
walking in the braided river instead of the brushy hillside
moss on water
moss on water
the trees take a stand in the river
the trees take a stand in the river
then the second of the creek crossings.
nothing like a bunch of steamy dudes
nothing like a bunch of steamy dudes
crossing crystal creek
crossing crystal creek
and then all uphill, and steeply.
getting ready for the steep
getting ready for the steep
up we go via a game trail
up we go via a game trail
a gap of light
a gap of light
r3h takes the high road
r3h takes the high road
did the boulder take out the tree?
did the boulder take out the tree?
being slowly absorbed
being slowly absorbed
steep
steep
finally some snow around EL2200'(?), though gloppy at first.
more steep, now in snow
more steep, now in snow
it got deep in a hurry, then firm, then easy.
now, up in the firm, flatter snow
now, up in the firm, flatter snow
and a touch of frosty trees
and a touch of frosty trees
r3h on final approach
r3h on final approach
touchdown!
touchdown!
it was enjoyable to watch others emerge through the passing clouds as we sat on the summit.
ghostly figure emerges
ghostly figure emerges
clouds burning off
clouds burning off
then, the name that peak game.
gazing
gazing
seahpo, shuksan, and icy area
seahpo, shuksan, and icy area
blister's NW ridge towards phantom pass and icy
blister's NW ridge towards phantom pass and icy
despair through blum
despair through blum
seahpo
seahpo
more seahpo
more seahpo
nooksack tower peaks out
nooksack tower peaks out
clouds parting a bit more
clouds parting a bit more
soaking it in
soaking it in
shadows
shadows
stefan then decided to summon his powers.
stefan calls for the sun
stefan calls for the sun
and we proceed to head down under the warmth of the mid-april sunlight.
summit scattering
summit scattering
final look as the clouds really part
final look as the clouds really part
and only 5 miles of partial bushwhacking trail between us and cars.
how long is this trail?
how long is this trail?

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Matt
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Matt
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PostTue Apr 17, 2012 3:33 pm 
John Roper provides the following info about Blister Mountain: The “Blister Mountain” name came about from its shape, in “honor” of what as climbers we have all experienced by foot. Dick Kegel, Bruce Gibbs, and jr climbed this (FA?/first descent? 6/21/92) the day after we climbed Cloudcap and Icy (over Ruth) about 20 years ago, exiting that ridge you guys came up. More info here, including John's photos of Blister from Icy: http://listsofjohn.com/PeakStats/Climbers.php?Id=51097 I had wondered whether that traverse was workable across Phantom Pass from the east ridge of Icy to the north ridge of Blister. It sounds like an interesting way to exit from Seahpo (aka Cloudcap) without having to retrace the route back over Icy & Ruth.

“As beacons mountains burned at evening.” J.R.R. Tolkien
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kite
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kite
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PostTue Apr 17, 2012 4:05 pm 
Wow the color in the Baker river photos is amazing!

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raising3hikers
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raising3hikers
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PostTue Apr 17, 2012 6:34 pm 
Matt, your patience paid off to get the best look at Icy Peak. Nice job up.gif I guess the rest of us left just a little too soon.

Eric Eames
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Matt
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Matt
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PostTue Apr 17, 2012 11:25 pm 
Blister GPS Track
Blister GPS Track
Statistics for Blister: Round trip 14 miles, net gain 4615, cumulative gain 5065, 11:30 hours. (The others could probably have done it in a couple hours less; I was going slower.) The trip really was two very distinct hikes: 1) a long low hike through rain forest along the Baker River 4.75 miles, 275 net gain, 500 cumulative gain. 2) a very steep ascent up the ridge of Blister 2.25 miles, 4340 gain Thus the average rate of ascent was 58 feet/mile for the Baker River section, and 1929 feet/mile for the Blister ascent.

“As beacons mountains burned at evening.” J.R.R. Tolkien
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Matt
Tea, Earl Grey, Hot



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Matt
Tea, Earl Grey, Hot
PostTue Apr 17, 2012 11:32 pm 
And finally, here is a stitched panorama of the view from Blister's summit. I took these from the northern lobe of the summit. Because it's such a wide summit, one has to walk several hundred feet to look off different sides, so it's not possible to put together a single pan that looks down into the drainages on the sides and end at the same time.
270 degree Blister summit view
26 labels
270 degree Blister summit view
It was interesting tracing out the valleys. I had forgotten that the Baker River has its headwaters at Perfect Pass (nowhere near Mt. Baker) and that Picket Creek is one of it's tributaries. And it was sort of a surprise to find that one could see so far up the valleys to Chillwack and Jasper passes. It's also amazing that Sjolseth crossed much of this terrain in a single solo trip. I think Mineral Mountain is going up high on my wish list for early summer.

“As beacons mountains burned at evening.” J.R.R. Tolkien
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Matt Lemke
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Matt Lemke
High on the Outdoors
PostTue Apr 17, 2012 11:40 pm 
Very Very nice pano Matt I can't wait to get up in the Picketts this summer....it is about time!

The Pacific coast to the Great Plains = my playground!!! SummitPost Profile See my website at: http://www.lemkeclimbs.com
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markod72
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markod72
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PostTue Jun 18, 2013 6:31 pm 
iron wrote:
more steep, now in snow
more steep, now in snow
All smiles...love it. Looks like a good day out.

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