Hiking Dock Butte & Blue Lake Trail in the Mount Baker Wilderness
“You can’t hide from us this weekend, Mount Baker!”
Last weekend we decided to do Park Butte trail and it ended up being a very foggy and rainy (but still immensely beautiful) hike. Park Butte trail leads you 2200 ft to a lookout that has the most incredible views of Mount Baker. But through the thick fog and rain showers, we ended up not being able to see this incredible view. So this weekend it looked a little bit less rainy and more clear than last weekend (but really there is no knowing until you’re 2 hours out up on a mountain to really know what the weather is going to be like)! We decided to go for it! We agreed on doing a different trail called Dock Butte and Blue Lake Trail in the same area (Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest) and see if we would be able to catch some of those incredible Mount Baker views!
I spy a little fox
“Dirt road season I guess?”
The only thing I was dreading about this trail was the darn dirt road I knew we would have to drive on to get to the trail since the trail we did last weekend branched off the same dirt road. By we I mean Kevin buuut I tend to feel car sick after 45 minutes of bumpin’ and swervin’ around a field mine of potholes. But again, Kevin is a ninja, and drove us safely to the trail (we also highly recommend a 4 wheel drive vehicle if you want to do the park butte or dock butte trails). This was the 5th dirt road we had to drive down in the past few months, so I guess it’s dirt road season if you wanna get to the good trails eh? (yaaaay…) But towards the end of the dirt road it was so beautiful and made the dizzying car sickness all worth it. There was no thick fog like last weekend which made way for sweeping views of the north cascades and I also got a peep at the icy glacial tippy top of mount baker on our drive into the trail. I squee’d and asked Kevin if he also just witnessed the view I did. But unfortuanately he was keepin’ it at 10 and 2 in full concentration to avoid the pot hole war zone and not drive us straight off a mountain cliff. Good choice Kev, I probably would’ve did the later!
“Let’s get vertical”
We arrived at the trail and immediately started going vertical, up the mountain trail. Dock Butte Trail was 4 miles with 1200 ft elevation gain and the trail we did last weekend (Park Butte Trail) was 7.5 miles with 2200 ft elevation gain. So Dock Butte ain’t got nothing on us! Oh but it did. I was wondering why I was so out of breath and exhausted on this hike, and then I laugh looking back at photos of us climbing this very vertical mountain trail. Because the mileage was shorter, it was pretty vertical for almost the whole trail! We lugged our heavy backpacks (filled with the essentials…you know cheese and wine and snacks…ok maybe there was some water in there too). We huffed and puffed our way to our first flat section of the mountain. The thick forest cleared, and we entered into a literal autumn wonderland. Yellow, orange, and red foliage lit the ground on fire; tall, whimsical pine trees created perfectly framed views of the north cascades and mount baker. It started to drizzle, which I was stoked about. I was so flush and hot from our vertical beginning, I stuck my face up towards the sky and let the rain droplets bounce off my face. Every step we hiked brought us to new and magical meadows and vistas – and got me thinking…maybe unicorns do exist here.
hello jello legs
Me: “I’m gonna die” Kevin: “We’re nearly there!”
Ok, maybe I was overreacting just a little bit. But my legs were jello and my lungs were spent – especially at higher altitudes when it’s even harder to catch your breath. It had only flattened out at the top for a short moment until we were on our way up another vertical mountain trail. Oof! We made sure to stop and rest for quick moments to catch our breaths and stay hydrated. The views were incredible but it was hard to concentrate on them when I was “dying.” But I knew we would be seeing the same views on the way down, so I continued on. My drive and motivation was the top of this darn vertical summit, I put my head down and kept pushing upward even though I constantly felt like giving up. I told Kevin I was dying, and he responded that we were nearly there. NEARLY? Aren’t we there yet? Up, up, up, gasp, gasp, gasp. We neared the very, very end and climbed up some vertical rocks to reach the tiny little summit at the top. It was a great thing that the 2 people that were up there before us just began heading down when we reached it. It was the perfect little summit for 2 people. Plus a dog was pushing it. We basked in our accomplishment, happy to be done climbing upward and knowing it was all downhill from there (in a good way)! We hydrated and snapped some photos of the view and then decided to head back down. We normally picnic and hang around for a while at the summit – but we decided to move and go down at the beginning of the trail where it forks off onto another trail called “Blue Lake Trail” and have our picnic there by the lake. Which sounded more appealing than the narrow ledge we were all crammed onto together. So we packed up our gear, and headed back down Dock Butte.
“Viewssss! (4 s’s are necessary)”
The trail on the way back down was even more beautiful than on our way up. How was that possible? Maybe we just didn’t get to enjoy it and soak it all in from all of our concentration being on climbing the very vertical trail. Or because almost the whole trail back down, Mount Baker was front and center. Every view was more beautiful than the next. From massive cleared away views of just the massive mountain, tiny peek-a-boo views through pine trees, perfectly framed and silhouetted meadow views. At one point of the trail we were walking directly towards the beautiful, icy mountain. We found the most perfect little meadow with a little marsh pond, the rain gently rippling off the surface. I plopped myself down right in the middle of the meadow on the earthy and (surprisingly dry) ground and listened to the rain. The vibrant, fall foliage colored the world around us. Even though the skies were gray, the ground was on fire. Red, orange, and yellow perfectly contrasted against the icy blue mountains and the forest greens.
“Guess what color “Blue Lake” is?!”
We continued back to the very beginning of the trail to take a trail that branches off from Dock Butte Trail to Blue Lake Trail (say trail again). We definitely recommend doing this one as well since you are already there! And it’s only ½ a mile to the *spoiler alert beautiful lake! The trail wasn’t as well maintained as the Dock Butte one, but it made it a little more mysterious and fun. Dense and wet, like a rainforest we sludged our way to the lake. I didn’t see any lake anywhere in site, and had to keep asking Kevin if he was sure we were on the right trail. And then all of the sudden we heard the echo of peoples voices and a clearing of the lake. That’s why they decided to call it “Blue Lake.” It was the most blue lake I have ever seen (and it was cloudy that day)! So I cannot even imagine what color it is when it’s a clear sunny day. Can’t wait to go back in the summer to check that vivid blue color out! But it was still so blue and vibrant. We could see a rocky surface that jutted out into the lake, the perfect place to have our snacks and have a nice little picnic. We skirted around the lake through dense and unkempt trail (I think at one point we were squeezed by two small fir trees to get to a clearing). We got to the rocky surface right next to the lake and plopped down right next to the clear and icy cold water. I looked over the edge of the rocks, and the lake was SO deep. Not a lake where you could walk around and just get your ankles wet. If anyone knows the depth of this lake, let me know! It looked incredibly deep! The waters edge was right there, and I knew I couldn’t pass up the chance to dip my feet in. I threw off my hiking boots and socks and let my aching, sore feet slide into the frigid waters. I asked Kevin if he was going to join, but he scoffed and said that it would be way too cold. And I told him he couldn’t miss this possibly once in a lifetime opportunity (even though we could come back if we wanted). I sat there and enjoyed the cold water until another pair of barefeet sat next to me. Kevin decided to take this “once in a lifetime opportunity” and brave the freezing water on his feet. A fish jumped, so we threw in some peanuts and cheese (OH NO NOT THE BELOVED CHEESE) to see if any fish would come up to take a nibble. We watched the peanuts slowly sink into the deep lake abyss, and didn’t see any fish oh darn! I later learned that it is a great fishing spot where you can catch yellow spotted trout – and it is highly encouraged to do so to keep the population count of them down. Our feet were becoming numb so we hopped out and put back on our warm socks and hiking boots and enjoyed the view. The lake was truly stunning and brimming with majesty. The massive valley that enveloped it was a vibrant, neon green with pine tree growth. We sat there for a long while and snacked on cheese, grapes, and peanuts.
”Petrichor” (best word ever, look it up)!
We decided it was time to head back home, so we gathered our things and began to head back on the trail to the beginning. Just then it began to rain, and then pour! The calm, smooth lake transformed into rough and rippled. The sound of rain water hitting the lake was music to our ears, so soothing. We scurried away towards the thick, dense forest cover and back on the trail – making our way back to the beginning and headed home, warm and cozy in our car as the rain pitter pattered on the windshield.
