Mount Baker

BW and I crossed the border for a try on Mt Baker, which you can see from downtown Vancouver on a clear day. Late afternoon sunny skies as we started out along Heliotrope Ridge hiking trail, which starts a few miles east of the town of Glacier, WA. The trail eventually climbs up to a spot just underneath the Coleman Glacier. We don the crampons and start up the glacier headwall around 6 pm, slightly hurrying to get up to our intended camp before dusk. We camp in a large basin on the glacier around 7000ft. By 10 pm we are asleep from a hectic day of travel and hiking. Back climbing by 7:15 am the next morning, we slowly wend our way around the crevasses int he large glacier. A cloud is over the mountaintop, so we travel in misty whiteout conditions. After reaching the saddle between Coflax Peak and Baker, we continue up a rocky ridge and then a steepish snow slope before coming out on the summit plateau - the Deming Glacier which caps the volcano. Crossing that easily we arrive on a small rocky outcrop at 1 pm. After a few summit photos we commence the long plod down, pack up the camp and make our way all the way back down to the trailhead by 7:15 pm.

Paddle Boarding the Bow

JD and me gave the brand new stand-up paddle boards a try this weekend. Put in at the Canmore Bridge in the early afternoon after dropping off a pick-up vehicle 20 kms east along Highway 1A. Worked our way downriver, passing fly fisherman, wildlife, campgrounds, logjams and mountain forests to a spot near Gap Lake.