Tag Archives: Ben Baker

Mt. Washington Hike, October 2012

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Mt. Washington
Date: October 21, 2012
Difficulty: 6 out of 10
Distance: 9 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 3,200 feet
Time: 4 to 5 hours
Location: Exit 38 near North Bend, I-90
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: Discovery Pass Required
Trail Conditions: Damp to lightly packed snow on top.
Hiking With: Ben Baker, Linna Freeman, Patricia Chou, Garth Heuchert & my dog Macho

After coming back from a business trip on Friday from the Midwest my body was in need of a basic Northwest hike. The forecast was calling for snow in the Cascade Mountains and I didn’t really want to hike near Snoqualmie Pass because of the first snow of the year could cause a few headaches. Mt. Washington was the chosen one…a not too hard and not too easy type of hike. If you are looking for a secluded hike and close to Seattle, Mt. Washington will accomplish the task.

Trail started of wet and eventually we were tromping in snow; it was about a foot deep by the time we reached the summit. Linna cooked up some homemade tomato soup that I warmed up with my MSR stove for everyone at the top. After the hike the group had dinner at one of our favorite Korean restaurants.

Mt. Dickerman Hike, September 2012

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Mount Dickerman
Date: September 22, 2012
Difficulty: 6 out of 10
Distance: 8.6 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 3,875 Feet
Time: 4 to 5 hours
Location: Near Verlot, Washington (Mountain Loop Highway)
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: Discovery Pass
Trail Conditions: Dry all the way to the summit.
Hiking with: Linna Freeman, Garth Heuchert, Patricia Chow, Ben Baker & Macho the dog wonder.

Linna (my beautiful wife) wanted to hike Mt. Dickerman for a while now so she coordinated this excursion with a few friends. Linna gets bored of my I-90 hikes and has been starting to enjoy the Mountain Loop Highway trails located north of Highway 2 in Washington.

The Mountain Loop Highway connects the towns of Granite Falls, Verlot and Darrington, Washington. It is paved for 34 miles from Granite Falls to Barlow Pass (2349′) where the highway becomes unpaved for 13 miles and then paved again for the remaining 9 miles to Darrington. Portions of the unpaved section were closed for several years due to flood damage, the Mountain Loop officially reopened on June 25, 2008.

The 360 view on top of Dickerman is to die for and the forecast called for party sunny skies which was good enough for us. As you can tell from the pictures the forecast was wrong, the weather was like soup on top and there was no view to be had. Linna threw out a proclamation that we must come back to capture the beautiful views that Dickerman has to offer. For more details on the Mt. Dickerman hike click here bit.ly/OSSuyI.

Mount Pilchuck Hike, September 2012

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Mount Pilchuck
Date: September 1, 2012
Difficulty: 5 out of 10
Distance: 5.4 miles roundtrip
Elevation Gain: 2,200 Feet
Time: 3 to 4 hours
Location: Near Verlot, Washington
Users Group: Hikers & Dogs Only
Permits: Northwest Forest Pass
Trail Conditions: Dry all the way to the look-out tower.
Hiking with: Linna Freeman, Mike & Michelle Curry

Olive Huang organized this hike and the starting time was 11:00 a.m. at the trailhead. The only problem, we pretty much all showed up at different times. It all worked out though, we all met on top and enjoyed lunched together.