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Am0ngTh3Pin3s Hannah
Joined: 02 Oct 2021 Posts: 11 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle, WA |
After making the decision that we wanted to head up to Mount Baker area this past Monday, my husband and I browsed CalTopo a bit. We saw the trail that heads up to Church lake and thought that we would attempt to reach Church Mountain by doing a ridge walk past Bearpaw Mountain.
We packed up all the necessities and headed out. We stopped in Glacier on the way to grab some snacks/lunch to bring with us on our hike. We reached the turnoff for NF-31, just past the Douglas Fir campground. The road is nice and paved for a while, but after the paved section, it is not a nice road. This road was worse than the road to Skyline Divide, which in my opinion is pretty impressive. It felt more like we were driving through a dried-up river bed than a road for most of it. I would definitely say it is for high clearance vehicles only. Not to mention it's not very wide, so when we met up with a car on their way down, letting them around was quite tricky.
When we (finally) reached the trailhead, there was only one other car up there but a load of bugs in the parking lot. We decided to get moving ASAP to avoid the fly bites.
The trail to Church Lake is very steep and rocky but passes through more Heather than I've ever seen in one place.
Getting to Church Lake is a pretty quick trip, and the lake itself is really beautiful. Unfortunately, we didn't stay there long because the mosquitoes and black flies were relentless. We admired the lake for a moment and then pressed on to our destination.
The trail continues around the left side of the lake and continues to ascend once you get around it.
Here is where we encountered the first patch of snow on the trail, but it was easy to cross.
We continued up the ridge and we were able to see Bearpaw Lake to the East. Still, we kept on climbing, following the footpath that cuts in and out of the trees up the ridge. As we climbed, we found some larger snowfields that posed no issue as we crossed them.
We thought we had made it to the easy part and that the ridge would be a nice, flat walk. However, we reached about 6,000 feet and could no longer see the trail. We reached a point just past Whistler Creek where we decided to turn around. We didn't bring helmets or ice axes; the trail seemed too treacherous from that point on to continue. If anyone has taken this route before, I would love to know which way you went for next time!!
After our decision to abandon our destination, we sat and had lunch on the ridge, admiring the panoramic views of the Cascades, Mount Baker and Shuksan fighting for our attention. Even though we didn't get where we planned, it was still a lovely day up there! Low 80's with a nice breeze the entire time, which was quite refreshing after the heat wave in Seattle.
Tom, geyer, MangyMarmot, LukeHelgeson, RichP, Nancyann, runup, olderthanIusedtobe, Bramble_Scramble, awilsondc, Ian Saylor
Tom, geyer, MangyMarmot, LukeHelgeson, RichP, Nancyann, runup, olderthanIusedtobe, Bramble_Scramble, awilsondc, Ian Saylor
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awilsondc Member
Joined: 03 Apr 2016 Posts: 1323 | TRs | Pics
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Cool idea for a fun explorative route, and smart to stop when it didn't seem safe to continue. I love that first lake picture! Looking forward to see where you go next.
Am0ngTh3Pin3s
Am0ngTh3Pin3s
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Am0ngTh3Pin3s Hannah
Joined: 02 Oct 2021 Posts: 11 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle, WA |
Haven't decided on a hike to do this upcoming Monday...any suggestions? Next week we're heading out to Foss Lakes
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Celticclimber Member
Joined: 04 Aug 2012 Posts: 329 | TRs | Pics Location: Index |
I tried to make it to Church Pk via Damnfino Lk. Some 15yrs ago.
After alot of cross country work, I had to call it off, as well.
With spring being so late. The bitey ones are out longer.
Waiting a bit longer for them to die off might not be a bad idea
Live every day like you will die to-marrow.
For some day that will be true.
Am0ngTh3Pin3s
Live every day like you will die to-marrow.
For some day that will be true.
Am0ngTh3Pin3s
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KascadeFlat Member
Joined: 06 Jul 2020 Posts: 310 | TRs | Pics Location: Eating peanut M&Ms under my blue tarp |
Some of my favorite trips started by looking at a topo map and wondering if we could connect two dots. This area on the backside of church is definitely an underrated gem. Nice work!
For a good time call: 1-800-SLD-ALDR.
Am0ngTh3Pin3s
For a good time call: 1-800-SLD-ALDR.
Am0ngTh3Pin3s
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TellimaChris Member
Joined: 02 Jun 2019 Posts: 15 | TRs | Pics Location: Bellingham, Washington |
Following the ridge crest from Bearpaw to Church is not recommended.. lots of ups and downs, loose rock, and unpleasant class 3+. Better to drop down into the basin to the north, past Whistler Lake then to Kidney Lakes before going to up Church. There are some ups and downs here too, but its lovely terrain and not too difficult. Kidney Lakes in particularly is a beautiful area.
Some info and pictures are in my similar trip report.
contour5, Am0ngTh3Pin3s
contour5, Am0ngTh3Pin3s
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contour5 Member
Joined: 16 Jul 2003 Posts: 2962 | TRs | Pics
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contour5
Member
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Wed Aug 10, 2022 7:24 pm
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Cool Area. I just posted a TR also, but I can't seem to get the URL button to work...
Am0ngTh3Pin3s
Am0ngTh3Pin3s
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Am0ngTh3Pin3s Hannah
Joined: 02 Oct 2021 Posts: 11 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle, WA |
Very nice! Thanks for sharing. I think we’ll be back there at some point soon. We might go up the other way due to the road conditions though.
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Am0ngTh3Pin3s Hannah
Joined: 02 Oct 2021 Posts: 11 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle, WA |
I’ll check it out
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