11-23 Mount Baker

-me skinning up. photo by Glenn
Hiked up Heliotrope Ridge on Friday...  Since I have not purchased chains yet and left my 150 lbs of sand bags at home, I had to park my truck 3 miles from the trail head, as my 2-wheel drive pickup with no posi-traction couldn't make it up a steep icy section of the road.  I even dropped the air pressure in my tires with no luck.  So I started walking and after a mile or so a gentleman by the name of Glenn was approaching behind me in his vehicle and asked me if I wanted a ride.  I gladly accepted the offer and when he popped the hatch of his Outback, I learned that he was a skier too.  When we arrived at the trail head there was a 90-93 Honda Accord sedan with chains on the front tires that made it up fine.  I left first and Glenn soon caught up with me on the trail.  There is a series of heavy blow downs close to the end of the trail that takes a while to get through.  They are a pain to negotiate through, but manageable.  There is also a lot of icy patches on the trail that I slipped on a couple times.  ..Watch out!!  Once the two of us got to the creek bed before the end of the trail, Glenn and I skinned right up from there.  It was a great day to be on Mount Baker!!  Glenn had to head home early so I continued up a little higher.  The powder stayed rather dry all day long, and made for a very exciting descent.  It was truly a gorgeous day out and I even saw a rainbow later on in the day!!  As it started to get dark the full moon was still rising on the horizon and I knew I was only a couple hundred yards from the trail head, and I was not wanting to get my head lamp out till I got to the trail head.  Then before I knew it, I lost the trail for a second.  As I back tracked a few feet I heard voices then saw two head lamps bouncing in the dark.  I said hello and asked the couple if I could walk with them the last hundred yards to the TH and found them to be very friendly.  I was starting to say goodbye at the trail head when I realized that my truck was three miles down the road, so I asked them if I could catch a ride with them and they kindly said yes.  What a way to end the day.  What I thought was going to be another lonely solo trip for me ended up being a duo for part of the day and I even hitched two rides!!  A big thank you to Glenn, Greg and Randi for the rides!!!
The photos start here: http://www.the808.net/gallery/november-2007?page=5
360 Panorama: http://www.the808.net/gallery/november-2007/MVI_3763

-Mount Rainier in the distance