Everything feels familiar driving up Glacier Creek Road to the Heliotrope Ridge trailhead. I’ve been backpacking for decades, to more trailheads than I could possibly remember, and I’ve been on this trail on more than one occasion. But today is different. For the first time, my goal is the summit of Mt. Baker. We shoulder our packs and start hiking, …
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Here in Western Washington, perpetual cycles of moisture-laden weather systems move inland from offshore, gifting the Cascades Mountain Range with a bounty of snow and rain that sustains the flora, fauna, and people of the region throughout the year. These images trace water’s dynamic journey from the Evergreen State’s icy mountaintops as it descends through creeks, lakes, waterfalls, and rivers …
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Heliotrope Ridge After a two-year hiatus caused by the closure of the Glacier Creek Road due to a massive washout, the Heliotrope Ridge Trail has regained its place among the supreme hikes around Mt. Baker. This iconic trail climbs 1400 feet in a scant 2.2 miles to reach the icy ramparts of the Coleman Glacier cascading down beside alpine …
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The Mt. Baker Highway is unusual. As one of Washington’s few high mountain roads that remains (mostly) open in winter, it provides access to the alpine that otherwise just isn’t feasible in other parts of the North Cascades due to a combination of snowed-in roads and the abbreviated daylight hours of winter. The Highway, officially known as SR-542, is plowed …
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AdventuresNW
