Taking The Railroad Grade on Mt. Baker

Mt. Baker, viewed from a distance, is a sublime and tranquil mountain.  One can imagine Zen monks contemplating beauty and eternity in some Shangri-La below.  Close up, however, the dynamic nature of mountain is evident.  The landscape is shaped by powerful forces from above and below. Gasses vent from the crater thousands of feet above.   Sulfur Creek streams pungent meltwater off  Easton Glacier, carving the ramp through till that takes hikers to the edge of the ice, where they can witness closeup the forces alive in Baker.  This wonderful day hike is known as the Railroad Grade.

Park Butte Look Out

The Railroad Grade is a companion hike to Park Butte Lookout Hike (see my blog from August 2015). Both hikes originate at the Mt. Baker Recreational  Area Trailhead at the end of FR 13.  Both start on Trail 603 which begins behind the tidy outhouses.  Note:  Trail 603.1 (the Scott Paul Sulfur Moraine Trail) a longer, scenic option starts just a bit up the trail to the right.  Stay left.  Trail 603.1 rejoins 603 in 5.5 miles,

The Board Walk Through the Meadow

The first part of Trail 603 brings you through a boggy meadow nicely mitigated with boardwalks.  In about a mile,  the various ribbons of Sulfur Creek need to be forded.  A temporary bridge crosses the main channel, but the creek can flow higher, so caution is warranted here.

Sulfur Creek is Well-Named

After the bridge, the trail continues upstream through a  dry, rocky channel before climbing into the forest again.  The next mile of excellent trail switches back and forth aggressively up to a high valley walled in by Baker, the Cathedral Rocks, and Park Butte.  Before the plateau, at the two mile point, the Scott Paul Trail rejoins 603.  Staying left will continue your ascent to meadows where you'll see the sign to Railroad Grade.  Going right will take you on a long exit ramp back to the trailhead.

A Lovely Well-Maintained Trail

Stay Right to Head Up the Railroad Grade

In an other half mile, the  Railroad Grade Trail begins (603.2) in the meadow. Go right.  In a half mile or so, the trail mounts the ridge that gives the hike its name.

The Easton Glacier Left A Ramp U p the Mountain

The Railroad Grade Trail begins with broken steps towards some campsites below the ridge.  In a few hundred yards, the trail climbs up the ramp.  From there, it is a steady and predictable climb.
Just as if you're riding a train (high on nature?) you'll chug up the incline towards high camp. Normally, as we ascend a ridge trail, we have the assurance we are treading upon rocky spine of a giant. Not here; the foundation is sand and gravel, bulldozed by the Easton Glacier before it began its retreat up mountain.  The continual erosion by ice, wind, and water is evident.  The edge of trail is crumbling slowly away, so be wary.  The exposure in places can be rather impressive.

A Large Marmot Sunbathes on the Trail

My ascent began with train whistles, of sorts, heard from a distance.  Eventually, I caught up with the engineer, a marmot sunbathing beside the trail.

On the right as you move up the grade is the Easton Glacier.  When I hiked this week, cool breezes whirling off the ice were a nice change from the warm and humid air in forested switchbacks below.  On the lower half of the hike, through the forest and meadow, blackflies and mosquitoes buzzed around enough to be annoying, but not enough for me to spay on bug juice.  Keep moving is my philosophy, and it paid off because the cool air off the glacier ended the problem.

Dangerous Crevasses Open Up in the Summer

Footing on the edge can be iffy in places.  Exuberant but exhausted climbers coming down the grade tended to favor the grassy side of the ridge.  A mile up the grade, a sign points left for High Camp, or straight to the climbers camp.  I kept heading up to a point where I stood above the climbers' camp.  just before  the trail descends to a wide, protected area.  Tents of yellows, blues, and reds, shone brightly in the early afternoon sun.  Clearly, Mt. Baker is a favorite among Northwest climbers.  A couple of old goats told me they liked it better than Rainier for the climb and vistas.  This was my modest high point on the mountain, around 6,000 ft.  I took some unobstructed panoramics of the Baker and distance ranges, ate my lunch, sipped some water, and Zenned-out on the mountain beauty.

Turning back down the trail, at a little after 1 PM, the number of hikers and climbers had increased.  I even ran into someone I knew who had spent a couple of nights at the High Camp, and day hiked over to the Lookout.  A family came up with an apprehensive daughter.  Apparently, she did not appreciate the exposure and sometimes bear crawled a few parts of the trail.   Again, staying on the green side of the trail should have provided all the assurance of safety needed.

Once you're off the ramp,  with the exception of the boulders on the creek crossing, the lower part flies by.  Even with my old knees, I was out before three o'clock.  Of course, on the way down, I kept stopping to look back to the mountain, in all its majesty.

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Getting to the trailhead can be confusing if you've never been there.  Here again is a reprint from my Park Butte entry from last year:

The sign at the jumction of FS 12 and 13, about 4 miles from Baker Lake Road

The direction from the WTA are fairly accurate (WTA Park Butte Lookout), but unless my tires are over-sized, the distances to crucial junctions are slightly overstated which means you might drive past the turn off to the trailhead then have to double back.  At 11.9 miles up the Baker Lake Road (not 12.3 as reported), after you see the Mt. Baker National Rec. Area sign, take the immediate left after the bridge onto FS12.

Under 4 miles up FS 12, take a right on FS 13.  Again, the sign says, "Mt. Baker National Rec. Area."  This road terminates in about five miles at a nice parking area with privies and camping sites.