Skyline Divide Trail - Mt. Baker Wilderness

“This is one of the most popular hikes on the Mt. Baker Ranger District. From the trailhead you will climb steadily for two miles through the forest into Mt. Baker Wilderness and lush, open, flower-filled meadows with stellar views of glacier-draped Mt. Baker. The trail wanders along Skyline Divide for another 1.5 miles, offering views of rivers, forests, and countless peaks.” [4Feet]: The Skyline Divide Trail was considered an easy trail for us. The trail was well-maintained, and the elevation gain (2,500’) was quite decent for a day hike. The road (NF-37) to the trailhead was however rough and required extra precaution for speed as the different sizes of potholes exhibited the risk of flat tires and motion sickness (me). The Skyline Divide locates in the north of Mount Baker Wilderness and merely 8 miles in the south of the Canada-US border. Most of the hikers consider October the last month for hiking because the short daylight, low temperature, and high humidity may make the hiking experience less enjoyable. However, for type-2 fun seekers, no month is a bad month for hiking. This weekend, we hungered for the amazing Cascade wonderland. The temperature was already below freezing point upon our arrival on the morning of Saturday. The sky was crowded with low clouds; in contrast, the trail parking place was quite empty. A cloudy day turned into a snowy day right before our first step in the wood. In the forest, we were well protected by the trees from the wind, somehow felt hot when climbing up. As we broke off the forest, the view right in front of us was absolutely nothing. Yes, unfortunately, the snow, freezing fog, and low clouds created absolutely zero visibility. At some points, the sunlight broke through the thick cloud and shined the silver surface of mountains in the late afternoon, but we were still unable to see the mountain in far vicinity, especially the one we had been looking for – Mount Baker. We hiked back to the car and decided to stay overnight; wished for the best – a clear sky for tomorrow. At 4:30 a.m., we woke up at a chilly temperature (19*F). Good sleeping bags kept us warm throughout the night. We did not pay too much attention to how cold it was until we noticed the frozen condensation inside the car window. On a dark winter night, after it snowed, we were off hiking up the old mountain road. The woods were so lovely; the snow was so deep. The whole world around us seemed soundly asleep. We listened and looked and there’s not a sound; just the wonder of winter – it is here all around. As we reached back to the ridge, the whole Cascade Range had shown up on the horizon. Starting the most majestic mountain - Mount Baker on the right, Mount Shuksan on the southeast, and all other mountain peaks chained together extending toward the east. We laid our eyes on Mt. Baker the longest as it is the next mountain which we desired to climb. However long the night, the dawn will break. The golden color on the skyline broke the silence of the howling wind. The stunning sunrise in the mountains never fails to take our breath away right alongside it every journey of our hikes. Spurts of golden orange and all other colors embraced the sky with linear chaos. The beautiful view may stay still, yet the wind was not. In a cold wind with a significant speed of 45 mph, we could not even stand still without the help of trekking poles. Our fingers and faces were frozen as we proceeded our hike. New snow from the previous day flew in the sky and covered all of the trails on the ridge, and probably our faces too. It wasn’t dangerous to continue, but we were freezing cold even with many layers. After witnessing the beauty of the sunrise, we decided to return as our mission had been fulfilled. 11/7 - 11/8/20