Hiking Park Butte Fire Lookout | Mount Baker, WA | July 2022 | Solo Hike скачать в хорошем качестве

Hiking Park Butte Fire Lookout | Mount Baker, WA | July 2022 | Solo Hike

Park Butte LENGTH 7.5 miles, roundtrip ELEVATION GAIN 2200 feet HIGHEST POINT 5450 feet On Park Butte, hike to an historic fire lookout and come face-to-face with Koma Kulshan. Along with unobstructed panoramic views of Mount Baker, the Twin Sisters, and the rest of the North Cascades, the route to Park Butte offers dedicated campsites, wildflower-filled alpine meadows, rushing waterfalls, and a stunning variety of mushroom species. Park Butte is one of the most popular Mount Baker area hikes for a variety of reasons: unobstructed mountain views, a moderately steep trail with access to campsites, and an open, maintained historic fire lookout built in 1932. The Forest Service now uses other technology to search for fires, but decades ago fire lookouts proliferated on the peaks of the Cascades. One of the few remaining intact lookouts is on Park Butte; it is maintained through the volunteer efforts of the Skagit Alpine Club. The trail leaves the parking area at 3250 feet of elevation and heads west, crossing a bridge over Sulphur Creek and passing through Schrieber’s Meadow. At 0.1 mile, on the right, is the first intersection with the Scott Paul Trail. Continue left through the meadow, enjoying wildflower overload in the summer and a berry bonanza in the autumn; species that grow here include heather, salmonberry, blueberry, huckleberry, fireweed, lupine, and pearly everlasting. As you ascend with rushing Sulphur Creek and its waterfalls on your right, see how many mushrooms you can identify; a partial list includes yellow cracked bolete, peppery bolete, blackfoot paxillus, northern Russula, sharp-scaled lepiota, deadly lepiota, and fly amanita. WTA has performed trailwork here, building puncheon to maintain a trail through myriad rivulets of the boggy meadow. Continue left through the meadow, enjoying wildflower overload in the summer and a berry bonanza in the autumn; species that grow here include heather, salmonberry, blueberry, huckleberry, fireweed, lupine, and pearly everlasting. When you reach the lookout, at 5450 feet elevation, take care as you climb the ladder. Sign the lookout register, or even pen an entry in the poetry register. Gnarled mountain hemlocks, subalpine fir, and noble fir surround the lookout. Directly north are the Black Buttes, Lincoln and Colfax. To the southwest are the Twin Sisters, and the Nooksack River valley heads west to the horizon. And if the fates favor you with a sunny day, bask in the views of the sheer white glaciers of Koma Kulshan. NOTES ON CAMPING AT PARK BUTTE Camping at Park Butte is a popular activity; always check with a ranger or consult a map before heading out on an overnight trip. Campfires are not allowed in this environment. Camps are dry after the snow melts. First-come, first-served camping is available in the fire lookout, but you'll need to be at the lookout early to snag this perk! Those who do manage to secure the lookout should expect to share it with the many visitors who arrive during the day. If the lookout doesn't work out, there is camping available on the Railroad Grade and Bell Pass trails, but not at the tarns along Park Butte Trail. North Cascades National Park is an American national park in the state of Washington. At more than 500,000 acres (200,000 ha), it is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the North Cascades National Park Complex. North Cascades National Park consists of a northern and southern section, bisected by the Skagit River that flows through the reservoirs of Ross Lake National Recreation Area. Lake Chelan National Recreation Area lies on the southern border of the south unit of the park. In addition to the two national recreation areas, other protected lands including several national forests and wilderness areas, as well as Canadian provincial parks in British Columbia, nearly surround the park. North Cascades National Park features the rugged mountain peaks of the North Cascades Range, the most expansive glacial system in the contiguous United States, the headwaters of numerous waterways, and vast forests with the highest degree of flora biodiversity of any American national park. North Cascades National Park is almost entirely protected as wilderness, and so the park has few structures, roads or other improvements. Visitors wishing to drive to a campground must do so in the adjacent national forests or national recreation areas. Camping inside the park requires hiking in by trail, horseback or boat, and camping is regulated by a permit system to ensure the wilderness is not over-exploited. Mountaineering is popular in the park and only unobtrusive clean climbing is allowed. There are currently 93* Washington fire lookouts still standing at their officially used locations. TAGS: #pacificnorthwest #adventures #2022 #hiking #mountbaker #washington #explore #explorepage #explorewa #outdoors #outdoorlife