Monday, September 26, 2011

Hike 4 of 47 - Yellow Aster Butte

September 7, 2011


Yellow Aster Butte Summary


Julie, Jean and I left Mount Vernon just before 8:00 a.m. Until last evening, Julie & I were going up to Heliotrope Ridge, however the Glacier Public Service Center in Glacier, WA was kind enough to give me some information about creeks that would have to be forded, how deep and swift they were running, etc. They let me know, in no uncertain terms, that the snow bridge was no longer a safe crossing. There was a low log crossing a little downstream, but they were not sure that it would still be above water for our return crossing due to our HOT weather and all the snow melt.  Sooooooo, we opted to go up to Yellow Aster Butte instead. I must keep reminding myself that this adventure is supposed to be fun, not dangerous!  Besides, I really didn't want to get my new hiking shoes wet, ;)

We left Mount Vernon just before 8 a.m. and headed north on Highway 9 (took the scenic route!) and then east on Highway 542. Wow, what a beautiful drive! We stopped at the Glacier Public Service Center which was built in the early 1900's. We stretched our legs, utilized the restrooms and gathered some trail info. Here there was a GIGANTIC slab of a tree that is estimated to be 730 years old and I HAD to get my picture taken with it...it was AMAZING!
Me & a big tree!

About 13 miles past the town of Glacier, we took a left on Forest Service Road 3065. Up we went, approximately 5 bumpy, dusty, washed out miles through the forest on a one lane road. When we reached the trail head right at 10 a.m., there were already about 6 cars there and it was WARM! Honestly, I'm surprised some of those little cars had the clearance to make it up that road. A word of caution: If you have a car that is low to the ground, head up this road with great caution. If we had continued on up this FS road, we would have come to the Twin Lakes trail head.

Once parked, we were immediately and viciously ATTACKED by black flys the moment we opened the car doors. What horrible, pesky little creatures! Thousands, maybe millions and billions and gazillions of them, all trying to attack us mercilessly. From the moment we stepped out of the car, if we stopped moving, or even just slowed down, they swarmed, attacking every bit of uncovered skin they could find. We all DEET'd ourselves up well in the parking lot and off we went. Jean signed us in at the trail register, we all made a pit stop at the pit toilet and we started our way up the trail, trying to escape being eaten alive by the little back flys. The sign at the trail head said that it was 3.6 miles to the Butte. The dusty trail starts out with some moderate switchbacks through tall brush. The trekking poles came in handy to keeping the brush off of your legs. About 1/2 mile in I think the black flys had succeeded in beginning to drive me utterly, completely crazy. I had taken to smacking my own shins repeatedly with my poles, just to get the fly's off of me. The pesky things grabbed hold of clothing and were hard to dislodge, but I found that they succumbed to a good smearing with my hands.... and I didn't even care! I am one who normally takes great lengths to avoid stepping on ants, feels badly if a squirrel runs in front of my car, but the flys.......I took great joy in smashing them while laughing maniacally. 

By this time, Julie was ahead and out of sight. Jean was in front of me, usually on the switchback above me, but I could spot her rounding the bends of the switchbacks.  There were lots of big old trees that were down; they looked like left overs from the logging days.We then entered the coolness of the trees, crossed over several snow patches, tiny creeklets fueled by the melting snow and many muddy spots on the trail. The new hiking shoes gave excellent traction and kept my feet dry, too.

We entered the Mount Baker Wilderness area and the trail leveled out some. We crossed a few small snow patches and snow bridges, where it appeared that the snow that was left about about 15" deep.


 

In one direction we had great views of Mount Shuksan and the other gave Mount Baker a chance to shine!

Mount Shuksan



A peak at Mount Baker



Eventually we climbed a steeper part of the trail that opened up into a meadow filled with wildflowers. Beautiful yellows, whites, reds and purples filled the area, as did the buzzing of busy bees. Fortunately, we left the black flys behind. From here, we looked left and Mount Baker seemed to fill the sky. What an amazing sight that was!



Lupines
More lupines









Jean headed back across the traverse





 


Mount Baker in the background



When we got back to the parking area, it was 95 degrees in the car! The black flys continued to be relentless, although I was happy to see that there were many dead on my dash board.  There were a couple of "Forest Rangers" in the parking lot, as well. I chatted with one of them for a moment, he asked me about our hike, I asked what he thought the temperature was and then he wandered off to speak with his buddy who was approaching in a Jeep. We loaded up into the car, tried to shoo out the flys that made it inside the car and headed down the dirt road, back to Highway 542. Upon leaving the parking area, we passed the "Forest Rangers", who turned out to be Border Patrol agents. They were apparently waiting for someone they were expecting in the area. Coming from southern California, the Border Patrol were a common sight where I'm from. I guess they knew who they were looking for!

On our way back home, we stopped at Grahams Store in Glacier and stocked up on some snacks. I opted for salty cashews and chips, while others had ice cream, a shake and other treats.

All in all it was a beautiful hike. It was quite a drive, 72 miles each way, so I wish we could have gotten two hikes done during that trip out Highway 542.  I certainly could have done without the evil black fly's. The trekking poles were quite helpful, especially across the large snowfield, which I unfortunately did not get a picture of. I definitely recommend this hike. Try to get there on a day when the black fly's are in town doing their shopping or something else that takes them away from the trail. Did I mention that they were HORRENDOUS?



Miles:  6
Calories: 2,480
     Time: 5 hours

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