dberdinka Posted June 10, 2013 Posted June 10, 2013 (edited) Trip: Mount Baker - Post-Apocalyptic Ascent Date: 6/2/2013 Trip Report: With the I-5 bridge in the Skagit River and the Glacier Creek Road joining the ever growing list of washed out and indefinitely closed Forest Service Roads it seemed obvious that cars would soon be an antiquated method for reaching the mountains. Clearly the future of wilderness recreation must be a mix of rail and self-propelled transportation. With that in mind Matt left his house near Green Lake sometime on the morning of Sunday May 2nd and biked 10 miles to Edmonds where he caught the Amtrak to Bellingham. By 11 am we had met up at Boulevard Park where we collected a flask of sea water to bring as an offering for Komo Kulshan. About 40 miles of riding brought us to Glacier and a stop at the local watering hole before tackling the final steep 8-miles to the Heliotrope trailhead where we arrived in the late afternoon. On Monday morning we experienced complete solitude on a relatively non-eventful ascent of the Coleman-Deming route. We abandoned our skis on Pumice Ridge in a complete whiteout with strong winds only to have the weather blow over just before reaching the summit. Post holing back down the Roman Wall was followed by relatively good skiing to the flats around 7000’ at which point the snow transitioned to slop. We were back on the bikes by 1 pm for a tiring ride into a stiff headwind. I was home in time for dinner. Matt killed a couple hours at the Kulshan brewpub before catching an evening train back to Seattle. A very doable and fun trip. Biking from your front door to the mountains creates a very profound sense of interconnectedness among all the various facets of ones existence. Better get with it because before long you won’t have much choice. Skiing photos are all Matts - posted without his permission. A plug for Matts blog... http://frontdooradventures.blogspot.com/ And another one for his wifes delicious energy bars Luscious Light Bars Gear Notes: Long Haul Truckers Approach Notes: Amtrak to Bellingham (good schedule times for two day trip) Could take a bus (route 72X) to Kendal cutting off 1/2 the biking. ~47 miles from downtown to trailhead. Edited June 10, 2013 by dberdinka Quote
tvashtarkatena Posted June 10, 2013 Posted June 10, 2013 EcoNazis, after destroying NYC, move west! Quote
JasonG Posted June 11, 2013 Posted June 11, 2013 Great story and images! I'm far too lazy for these sorts of adventures, but I do admire the style. Quote
Woodcutter Posted June 11, 2013 Posted June 11, 2013 Excellent, everything, excellent idea, photography, beard, sloggin', the works. Apocalypse is coming, dem Natzi's is everywhere, even in the kitchen. Quote
Eric K Posted June 11, 2013 Posted June 11, 2013 "47 minutes from downtown to trailhead" REALLY! That trip takes me longer while driving. I don't know how you managed that on a bike. Eric Quote
JonW2 Posted June 12, 2013 Posted June 12, 2013 Did you guys feel flotation was necessary to reach a camp around 6,500'? Thanks. Quote
spionin Posted June 13, 2013 Posted June 13, 2013 wow, digging the recent bike/climb/ski trip reports! so awesome! Quote
OlympicMtnBoy Posted June 13, 2013 Posted June 13, 2013 Nice way to do it! I'm gonna have to copy your bike loading techniques there, if I ever get off my butt to do such a thing! Quote
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