30 minutes later he pulled up into the driveway and off we went.
10 minutes later we spied a drunk driver almost run off the road three times in less than a mile and almost wipe out an unsuspecting pedestrian. Time out for a call to 9-1-1 before continuing to the trail head without further incident.
Weather was spot on.
Bugs were just doing fly-by's, but weren't being a nuisance at all.
The road was in its usual condition but we made it all the way to Twin Lakes with a Subaru Outback without bottoming out whatsoever. Thank goodness... saved us a lot of road walking in the sun.
At the Twin Lakes trail head we encountered about four other vehicles, including a Honda Accord.
Snow covers the road at the last corner to the lake, right by the privy if you've been there before.
The trail was easy to follow, with a number of short snow crossings where you could see the trail emerge on the other side.
Twin Lakes Ice
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| From Big Rock Excursions |
Melting Twin Lakes Beauty
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| From Big Rock Excursions |
One of the Twin Lakes
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| From Big Rock Excursions |
Trail Intersection
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| From Big Rock Excursions |
Trail Bliss
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| From Big Rock Excursions |
Snowfield in upper right is the steep snow crossing
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| From Big Rock Excursions |
Mount Baker from Winchester LO trail
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| From Big Rock Excursions |
Happy Family hikers descending toward the lakes
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| From Big Rock Excursions |
Snack Break with Larrabee Pk in the distance
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| From Big Rock Excursions |
Looking down on Twin Lakes from trail to LO
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| From Big Rock Excursions |
There were two steep snowfields as we reached the upper end of the switchbacks above the lake. We were able to skirt around the bottom of the first one and then safely crossed the second one with ice axes in hand.
The second snowfield ends in a moat that's probably 8 feet deep but it was easy to cross with a little time and caution.
Crossing the final steep snowfield
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| From Big Rock Excursions |
Before we knew it we were at the Lookout.
Snack Break and Picture Break.
Tomyhoi, Canadian and American Peaks
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| From Big Rock Excursions |
Lookout sign and Mt. Baker
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| From Big Rock Excursions |
Lookout Entry
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| From Big Rock Excursions |
Photos inside the LO
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| From Big Rock Excursions |
Lookout signage... what is the arrow pointing to?
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| From Big Rock Excursions |
Tomyhoi Peak and Lake from Winchester LO
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| From Big Rock Excursions |
Winchester Lookout
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| From Big Rock Excursions |
Snack with a view
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| From Big Rock Excursions |
Can't beat that scenery!
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| From Big Rock Excursions |
The Lingering Steep Snowfield Crossing
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| From Big Rock Excursions |
Le Moat
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| From Big Rock Excursions |
Glissade Tracks
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| From Big Rock Excursions |
Ursine Etiquette and Guidelines
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| From Big Rock Excursions |
Descent on the road was also uneventful, although we were surprised to see a 4WD red truck with a young male driver pulled over by a Law Enforcement SUV while we were still about 2 miles away from Hwy 542. Very unusual in that situation.
Fantastic day for a short notice trip. Thanks for joining me Mark!
****There is a work party scheduled for the weekend of August 7th, 2010 by the Mount Baker Club. During that weekend the Lookout will not be available for use or overnights.****
Happy Trails!
~E
Hey we are the 'Happy Family' coming down the mountain. Incredible, I was reading your post about your Sumas Mountain/Lost Lake hike and saw this hike in the margin. Small world, great blog...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the note... it IS a small world. Glad you found this post (and glad I just now came across your comment).
ReplyDeleteIt's great that you could get the kids up there. Wish mine had more interest in hitting the trail. :)