Mount Baker Sunrise

Friday and Saturday, October 5 and 6, son Edward and I went on an overnight backpacking trip in the Twin Lakes area of the Cascades north of Mount Baker. We left early Friday morning and were on the trail by 7:30 am. We hiked that first day to the Pleiades Overlook on the shoulder of Mount Larrabee, a distance of eight miles round trip miles with an elevation gain of 1,845 feet. On the shoulder of Larrabee we were at an elevation of 6,740 feet and could see for miles over the North Cascades. On the south flank of Larrabee we also took a side trail and explored the old abandoned Gargett mine.

We camped that night at Twin Lakes and the following morning we got up before daybreak, had a quick breakfast hiked up the Winchester Mountain trail, another four miles round trip and an elevation gain of 1,310 feet to the top of the mountain (6,510 feet elevation) and the old fire lookout there. On the way up we stopped to photograph the sunrise on Mount Baker, which looms over the whole area and is the first peak to catch the light of the rising sun. We stayed for nearly an hour taking pictures before going on to the top of Winchester Peak with its breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains.

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