8.5 miles of hiking • 2000' elevation gain • 1 night
On our second day of vacation we decided to head out into Mt Baker wilderness to avoid having to get permits for an overnight. We decided on Lake Ann, as neither of us had been in the Mt Baker area before.
I heard this area was popular, but on a Tuesday night it was mostly empty. We only saw few solo backpackers, a woman and her two daughters, and group of climbers who packed up and headed out when they descended from Shuksan. There was however, one annoying group of gram seeking day hikers, who set up a tent, moved it around on top of rocks, looking for that perfect shot. I was happy when they packed up and left.
In the quiet of the night I stood in awe of Shuksan, hearing the glacier move periodically. I awoke in the middle of the night to what sounded like a chunk falling or rockfall. Shuksan is on my list to eventually climb when I get more skills, but it sure looks intimidating.
Beautiful weather until around 9 am as we were packing up to head out, then the downpour began and never let up. Wet and cold, we retreated for the night to Bellingham, and spent the rest of the day checking out breweries and drying out our gear.
