Last Saturday I went on another day hike, this time to Skyline Divide (Forest Service, Hiker Bob, Green Trails #13).

My hiking buddy this day was Erland. We both had commitments later in the day, but because of my stellar picture skillz and incredibly pithy remarks regarding recent hikes, Erland was jonesin’ for a hike and he would not let me not do it. So be it. We left stinkin' early in the morning (6:15-ish) and arrived at the trailhead around 7:30 am. There was one other car in the parking lot, but it appeared to have been left there overnight.

Everything I read said that the trail was all up at the beginning, so we were mentally prepared. Up the trail we went. And up, and up. And then up a little more. When we got near the top, we continued up. And then more up. When you see the sign welcoming you to the Mt. Baker Wilderness you’re there (after just a bit more up). Around 8:45 (1 hr, 15 min later) we got our first glance of Mount Baker from the Skyline Divide ridge. It’s an unforgiving climb, but it has a huge payoff.

Click for 2.3 MB fullsize panorama

Once we got to the top, it stayed relatively level, and we had nearly constant 360-degree views. You can walk in the middle of high meadows or step up to the edge of steep drop-offs.

The trail markings on the Green Trails map ends 3.5 miles from the trailhead, but parts of the trail continued on towards Baker. We aren’t exactly sure where the official end is. The path splits at one point: a high road and a middle road. We climbed up the rocks to the high road, of course, and followed that for another few minutes. We ate lunch with Baker [start Regis Philbin voice] "right there" [end goofy voice]. Very cool.

When you go, remember this: We left the trailhead early (7:30 am), and we spent nearly 45 minutes at the top without seeing another soul. One the way down, though, we passed 65 people and 8 dogs. At 11:30 am, the parking lot was full, and there were still people arriving (and one group came with llamas). If you go, go early. The earlier the better.

So this hiking business is starting to become a regular Saturday thing for me. It’s fun and I love it, but I’m not sure how long it’ll last. Football season starts soon. :)