Mt. Baker in the Fall...

Last weekend, Brian, Mike, Katie, Dawn, Wil, Brad, Marc and I all ventured out in to the wild to hike Mt. Baker and reach Park Butte. Brian, Marc and I planned to spend the night, while the others were out for a day trip...needless to say, the three of us had 30 pounds on our backs and that can sure slow the pace a little bit.

We enjoyed a beautiful, clear, crisp day on the mountain, as well as each others company, the great exercise and photo opportunities.

Park Butte is an old fire lookout, fully equipped with a bed, a stove, reading material and even scrabble. For sleeping over night it is used on a first come, first serve basis and is fun to visit. They have log books in the Butte from as far back as the 1980's. We had fun looking through the books and finding entries from people we know. We were able to find an entry made by the McGill's about 10 years ago, as well as an entry made my Marc's father-in-law, Ski, almost 20 years ago to the day.

After the rest of the crew had left, the three of us settled in to camp and made some delicious "just add water" food. We ate ourselves silly and then bundled up for a very cold, cold night. By 7:00PM it was cold, we were full, it was dark and time to sleep. We woke up the next morning a bit sore from the hike and sleeping on the ground and ready for the hike out.

It truly is splendid to wake up in the mountains and feel the freshness of the day. We genuinely enjoyed God's creation. Here are some photos from the weekend:

Park Butte from our campsite.

Brian and Marc hiking up the hill.

Our campsite...Brian & I were in the blue tent and Marc was in the tan one.

The happiest place on earth...end of the hardest part of the trail.

Brad & Wil up on Park Butte.