Heliotrope Ridge Hike

Yesterday, Terry, my parents and I decided to hike up Heliotrope Ridge to see the Coleman Glacier on Mount Baker. It was about 2.5 miles each way and an elevation gain of 1600 feet. It was a perfect day for a hike.

We parked our car and started the hike a little before 10:00 on Saturday morning. It was still foggy when we started the trail. The first part of the trail is thru old-growth forest. There were several waterfalls along the way and streams to cross. As we climbed higher, the forest started to thin and wildflowers edged the trail.

The last water crossing was a little sketchy. The creek was rushing and we had to jump a couple feet from one large bolder to another. I made it across first and then helped everyone else across. We amazingly made it without getting too wet.

The view of the glacier was amazing. The pictures don't do it justice. You can tell the size of the glacier by location the climbers in several of the pictures. We stopped at the top for a quick snack before heading back. As we started the trek down, the clouds started to clear and blue sky emerge. The hike down was uneventful. We passed one guy who was hiking in ski boots and had intentions of spending the night at the summit and then skiing down the mountain the next day.

We got back to the car about 4.5 hours after we left. A short drive from the trailhead provided some amazing views of the glacier we just hiked to that we missed on the way up due to the low clouds. It was cool not knowing to expect on the hike up and I am glad we got to see the view on the drive down. On the way home, we stopped for lunch at a quirky little bar in Glacier. The food was great and we definately look forward to doing the hike again!

Click here to see the rest of our hiking pictures!