Here's how it works.

All members of the Mount Baker Club are able to use the Short Notice Outings ListServ to build a community of outdoor enthusiasts.  This is a  members only benefit.

SHORT NOTICE OUTINGS
Email ListServ:
If you want to go hiking, biking, kayaking, sailing, or any other outdoor activity, and only have a few days' notice and yet you want to go with others, you simply send an email to Outings@MountBakerClub.org   This email is then sent to all Mount Baker Club members who have an email address. 

IMPORTANT
Interested club members are able to respond to you ONLY if you put your contact phone or email address in the message.  Do Not use the Reply Button when you receive "Outings" email, because your reply is then sent to all the members.     

Only members of the Mount Baker Club are part of this outdoor community able to send emails, therefore you will receive no SPAM.  All email addresses are kept private when you send out a message. 

BENEFITS
This is an easy way for you to get to know other club members.  If you're new to the area, it's a great way to learn about great areas to hike, bike, kayak, and more. 

Not a Member of the Mount Baker Club?
To join the Short Notice Outings outdoor community: go to the application form, and send it in along with your $15.00 ($18.00 for a family to join).  It's one of the best deals in town.  The Mount Baker Club is the oldest (formed in 1911) Whatcom County outdoors club in the Northwest.  Be a part of the tradition. 

All current members of the club are already a part of this Short Notice Outings outdoors community if they provided us with their email address.  All members can take themselves off of the Short Notice Outings outdoor community by sending an email to info@MountBakerClub.org 
 

Potential Spring Short Outings Click for Enlargement Hikes: Lake Serene, Index Lookout, Hiking the Pictographs of the Fraser Valley. Snowshoe & Ski Outings: Mountain Loop area, Silver Skagit, Elfin Lakes, Whistler’s Crater Lake, Mt. St. Helens, Coquihalla & Manning areas.  Mountain Bike: Keats Island, Wallace Lake.

Bud Hardwick has reported below on the following outings.  Bud is one of the most respected outdoor group leaders in the Northwest today.  He often goes on short notice outings.

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The month started with overcast skies which led to some paddle trips. Then a long magical spell of sunshine, only to finish in considerable fog and rain. Sounds like the Northwest.

Hike & Paddle Outings: A paddle trip in Howe Sound, BC let us reach Gambier Island and slip up and slide down the wet trail to the summit of Mt. Artaban. Despite the overcast skies we had a pleasant time paddling and on the summit of this open viewpoint. Further up the “Sea-to-sky” Highway brought us to Whistler. While not known for its’ paddling we enjoyed nice times on Alta and Green Lakes. Our attempt from the top of “The River of Golden Dreams” was aborted when we reached the portage with the official warnings of swift water, beaver dams, glacial temperatures, and other obstacles blocking our route. Later in the day we decided to see how far we could paddle UP RIVER! Despite having to drag and claw our way up some pretty steep beaver dams we managed to reach the portage point. The return down river (like down climbing) was fast but much more “interesting.” Another paddle took us back to the future site of the 2010 Olympic ski area. Three crews were surveying for it but the primitive road was still open to Callaghan Lake. This is one of my favorite places on the planet. The paddle in crystal clear water led me around chocolate colored bands of basalt and past thundering waterfalls. Brief stops at old growth forests added to the beauty and mystery of this location.

Mountain Hikes: Spending the sunshine weather we had pleasant hikes on both sides of the lower Coast Range of BC. Past the Coquihalla Summit we spent the night in the lookout on Mt. Thynne after a delicious dinner in the historic Copper Hotel of Merritt. The next day we hiked up Stoyoma Mt past the lovely and remote lakeside campsites. The Coquihalla Tunnels are now open and despite the lack of rain, they were thundering under the trestles quite nicely. The Hope Lookout trail was still short but seemed even steeper than we remembered but the views made up for any of the suffering we might have felt. For a change of pace we hiked up Whistler Mt via the Tram ride. Strange mixing of tourist access and barren alpine settings with spectacular views, especially of the Black Tusk. After being fascinated with hikers, walkers, horseback riders, a vehicle or two, and even a helicopter landing on the summit of Whistler; we headed east into the more remote areas of “The Musical Bumps.” It was surprising how quickly the crowd thinned. Within a ½ hour we had the trail to ourselves except for three other hikers that we saw in the distance (but didn’t even meet). The real gem of this outing was the Singing Pass and Russett Lake areas. Without doing the extra climb up to Russett Lake we would have missed the most beautiful of the wildflower displays and the most dramatic views of the rock and glacier covered mountains.

Mountain Scrambles: Luck was with us. The mixed forecast of possible rain gave way to a blue sky day (though a bit hazy from all the forest fires). A delightful trip to Monte Christo gave us a hike up the old miners trail to Gothic Basin. We tore ourselves away from the beautiful lakes and tarns and scrambled up Del Campo Peak. Despite some appropriate whining in the group about exposure and “don’t trip or fall here” we had an enjoyable day. The afternoon warmth forced me out of my dislike of cold water and sent me into a not unpleasant swim in a high tarn above the lakes. What a day.

Our luck began to change with a trip to the Duffy Lake Road area of BC (northeast of Pemberton). The forecast that promised sun and possible “mist” gave us high overcast and eventual rain thrashing. The first day’s hike and scramble up Mt. Rohr was a delight – white granite, flowered meadows, huge open flat summit with endless views – clouds continuous but much higher than the mountains. The next day we had to sleep-in waiting for the rain to stop. We chanced a climb of near 9000 ft Mt. Marriott but were so beaten by cold driving rain and slippery rock that we eventually had to make a retreat before the summit (which we never saw). A good trip to eventually repeat – in sunnier weather.

Rain Days: Closer to home we chanced a mixed forecast to go to Artist Point and Heather Meadows to enjoy some drive-up snow and see the mountain goats beginning to group up. No luck here, just cloud and mist making even the drive difficult. Dinner at Milano’s was some consolation. A forecast for cloud and afternoon sunbreaks was also unlucky for us. Great trip back to Elsay Lake and the Rescue Cabin but the clouds never broke so we had to save Elsay Peak for another day. The reward was seeing a mother bear with two cubs – napping in a meadow and completely unperturbed by our presence. We also managed to enjoy food and beverage at the Raven’s Pub in Deep Cove which improved our perception of the day’s activities.

July

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Summer was finally here and our attention was drawn to the high country of BC.

Needle Peak on the Coquihalla provided an unexpectedly easy hike with a short scramble to the top. This peak dominates the divide between the old route (Kettle Valley Rail-trail) through the mountains and the new Coquihalla Highway. A side trip to the last remaining high trestle including spectacular gorge and caved-in rail tunnel rounded out our day.

Paddle: A repeat visit for some of us to Claquot Sound on the west coast of Vancouver allowed for more time exploring popular and little known historic sites, natural areas, and hotsprings.

The Pemberton Area of BC.

Planned and unplanned opportunities led us to this area that borders on the Southern Cariboo and Chilcootin areas. Most nights we spent in a cabin or hut (always to ourselves) and each day we hiked a different trail, often with a high point peak. Some of the locations included: Place Glacier & Mt. Oleg; Phelix Creek – Mt. Aragon; Haley Moore-Melvin Divide; Tenquile Lake; Taylor Basin & Eldorado Peak; Seton Portage.

Sea-to-Sky Hwy

We managed to also spend time at the Dome Mt Hut and Brandywine Meadows. The summit views were awesome but the valley was also beautiful with flowers and waterfalls. A favorite view – The Black Tusk – was framed by the valley.

Two different hikes led us into a remote area of the Mamquam River. Known for its’ isolation and old-growth beauty we enjoyed blue sky days, mountain lakes, bears, and refreshing trail-side waterfalls.

North Cascades

A couple of fun hikes up little known and forgotten trails to Humpback Mt and Mt. Catherine in the Snoqualmie Area provided old-growth forest enjoyment and mountain views.

A trip up the Cle Elum river road let us explore old mining towns, forest lakes and a chance to climb and scramble Mt Daniel and Cathedral Rock.

June

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More than one of us had to do some recuperating after Ski-to-Sea but we still managed to do some fun outings.

Whidbey Island Trips: A combination campout, hike, bike, and paddle brought a group of us together. A little fun with the sea caves and tidal flows through Deception Pass and hiking visits to beautiful natural areas and historic sites. Some of us went further south to explore the Rhodi preserve and various beaches around Penn Cove. The Oaks at Oak Harbor provided dramatic photo opportunities and the more sports-minded ended the day with a rollerblade down by the water. Another trip to Whidbey Island gave us a chance to bike the Kettle trail and explore the high viewpoints and historical military sites. We also managed to explore a bakery and oyster bar before coming home.

Highway 2 Exploration: Visits to an old favorite – Lake Serene and Bridal Veil Falls were combined with some route finding around the rock climbing walls of Index Townsite and a first time visit to historic Promontory Peak – great views.

More paddles: Good weather brought a few of us out to paddle and visit Burrows Island to see the opening of the “new” State Park on the East side of the Island. The old buildings and summit made for good hiking and wildlife viewing. Early morning quiet paddling allowed us to see coyotes, mink, murelets, and seals.

Highway 20 Exploration:

A chance trip gave us a chance to hunt for the “Devils Elbow,” the remnants of the pre-road/highway through the North Cascades. Following yet another tip, we managed to risk some rotten slopes and find the last suspension bridge with the cables and rotted planks still hanging. The famous cut-out “ high enough to allow a packed burrow to walk through but too low for a man to stand” was also visible.

Eastern Washington Exploration:

Various trips allowed us to squeeze a little exploring time into the east side before the full summer heat set in. This included visits to Moses Coulee, Lake Chelan, Jameson Lake, and some natural sites at Douglas Creek and Hamilton Hill. We managed to hike much of the Douglas Creek rail-trail and were glad that we didn’t have bikes for this one. The wildlife viewing was great.

Columbia Gorge Explorations:

A long way to go but well worth it. We joined a special interpretive visit to the famous petroglyphs of the Columbia Valley including “She Who Watches.” Natural areas of Columbia Hills, Catherine Gorge, and the Columbia River Refuges & Preserves provided unusual wildlife sightings (for us west-siders) such as white Pelicans. A trip into the Big Lava Bed and Wind River areas provided some mystical hiking including hotsprings and the “lost crater.” The historic sites along the Columbia valley were also interesting and rounded out a couple of fascinating trips. We got plenty of ideas for future visits.

May

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After record sun in April it was decidedly hard to get motivated in the nearly continuous mountain rain and cloud of May.

May 1st found us exploring the Washington Pass area (North Cascades Hwy was open despite the potential for rockslide). We hiked and tried to ski to Cutthroat Pass but the snow was pretty much gone from the slopes. Across the way at Rainy Pass it was a delightful XC ski and snowshoe to Rainy Lake. The view was tremendous and the ski tracks going up the back of the cirque were equally impressive. Another time we played on the beautiful snow from the couloir on the backside of Liberty Bell down to the vehicles parked at the Hairpin. Some of us skied to the plane site on the way to Kangaroo Pass.

May was also a good time to practice ice axe use, snow travel, and even a little snow climbing in the Heather Meadows area. Despite sullen grey mornings, each afternoon we were there turned into dazzling sun.

Finally, a few days of forecasted sun encouraged us to explore the Hood Canal side of the Olympics. The sunny warm days along the Canal tempted us to wander beaches and shorelines longer than we had planned. Each day though, we pulled ourselves away and wandered up a different river drainage. Gushing waterfalls, trails to mountain summits overlooking the sound, historic cabins, nature trails, and beautiful Rhodi blooms just beginning their season delighted us on each trip. We ended the trip at Lake Cushman with an overcast morning. On the way home, the drizzle was an easy burden to bear as we used the last day to tour Whidbey Islands parks, trails, and beaches.

April

April was a remarkably warm and sunny month this year.  Record sunshine in the mountains produced an exceptionally beautiful Spring for skiing.  Road trips provided glorious views. 

Olympic Peninsula Outings (sunshine made the drive and ferry ride worth it):  lots of short hikes including Dungeness Spit, Neah Bay, Shi Shi, Lake Ozette petroglyphs, ocean beaches;  Hurricane Ridge ski touring and camping;  Lake Quinalt lodge and trails, old growth forests. 

Southwest WA Coast:  more sunshine days, abundant wildlife, interpretive centers, historical sites, planning for Fall paddle trip to Willapa and Fort Canby. 

Tetrahedron ski tour, Sunshine Coast, BC:  lovely ski touring, short steep climb on Panther Peak, “private” cabin.

Goat Ridge, Howe Sound, BC:  via Petgill Lake trail, great views of Howe Sound, and dramatic cloud breaks around Habric and Sky Pilot.

Mt. Saint Helens Trip:  Hiked Ape Cave, Tale of two forests;  ski off summit of St. Helens, gentle “classic” ski tour up Marble Mt. with finest volcano views in WA; various wetlands and parks along Lewis River.

Snow Travel & Ice Axe practice at Heather Meadows (warm up for the Spring season). 

March

This was a glorious transition month as snowshoeing and skiing mixed with more hiking opportunities and even a paddle or two.  The spring snow outings promise to be excellent and long range weather forecasts promise extended periods of sunny weather for next month.

Ski & Snowshoe Trips
British Columbia:  Brandywine Falls, Cal Cheak Valley, Whistler, Soo Valley, Pemberton, Cheakamus, Whistler Interpretive Forest & Crater Lake, Zoa Peak & Coquihalla, 3 trips to Hemlock Valley, Jones Lake/Conway Peak.
Mt. Rainier:  Crystal Mt, Paradise, White Pass,  Snoqualmie Pass.

Highway 2:  Scottish Lakes/High Camp, Leavenworth, Lake Wenatchee, Smith Brooks.

Stehekin Valley: 3 days of hiking, snowshoeing, and even a canoe paddle to see the pictographs.

Hikes
High Falls in Squamish Valley. Sauk River Valley, Mt. Loop Trails:  Beaver Lake, Old Sauk, Whitechuck Trail. Yakima Canyon.

February

Ski and Snowshoe Trips
Manning Park: Fat Dog alpine ski tour
Heather Meadows: Various day and moonlight snowshoe trips
Miller River (Hwy 2) ski tour
Stevens Pass: backcountry ski tours
Laidlaw/Jones Lake/Four Brothers Mt: ski lake and snowshoe to summit
Coquihalla: Falls Lake, Yak Basin, Needle Peak ski tours

Drive/Hike/Snowshoe Exploration Trips
Highway 2: Index Townsite & Townwall hikes, Water Fall Hikes: Eagle, Sunset, & Alpine Falls, Forked Sky State Park, Old Cascade Highway, Sultan River Parks, Heybrook Lookout, Bridal Veil Falls, East Baring & Skykomish parks & hikes, Coquihalla Highway & Summit Rec Area: Various trailheads, historic railroad stations, avalanche assessment, Falls Lake, Coquihalla-Merrit-Logan Lake-Kane Valley: Lookouts, railtrails, natural areas, ice-fishing, track skiing.

December

December Short Notice Outings reported by Bud Hardwick

Mt Loop Highway Deer Creek Road/Kelcema Lake: ski & snowshoe to beautiful snow covered lake Monte Christo Townsite: ski & snowshoe tour, snowcovered cabins, dramatic Mt views

Rockport-Mountain Loop driving tour: great Mt views, salmon spawning, new trails

Darrington: Siegelson Ridge snowshoe & ski tour, alpine views, new snow

Stevens Pass: back country ski and snowshoe touring, alpine ridges, rail trails

Diamond Head: Elfin Lakes, Squamish: ski and snowshoe tour to huts, spectacular views

Mt Baker Highway Heather Meadows: pleasant snowshoe outing, social pace Salmon Ridge & Anderson Creek Roads: easy skiing over freshly fallen snow

North Cascade Hwy
Driving tour & hikes: newly formed mountain lake, salmon habitat Forest Divide, Mt Baker/Baker Lake: snowshoe & ski in softly falling snow

November

Gambier I., Howe Sound Easy Hike via two ferry boats to summit & views

Eastern Washington Old Growth forest, Elk & Big Horn Sheep, Waterfalls, rail –trails, pictographs & petroglyphs, Snake River Canyon, Devils Canyon.

Mountain Loop Highway Ashland Lakes, Twin Falls (ancient waterfall of glacial lake).

Burlington Wild Washington Slide Show featuring local wilderness

Wallace Falls Moderately easy hike along Wallace River and views of dramatic waterfalls

Squamish, BC Mamquam River Rd, easy Snowshoe to Pinecone Provincial Wilderness.

October

Mountain Loop Highway Monte Christo easy gravel road bike to old mine and town sites.

Stevens Pass Hike to Nason Ridge, divide between Hwy 2 and Lake Wenatchee

Howe Sound Crest, BC Hike between the Lions and over The Saints (Mts) Thomas, James, David

Capilano Mt., BC Beautiful mountain lake and brilliant alpine views

Canyon Lake Hike Visit to the unusually old - Old Growth Forest

Okanogan, BC Easy hike to Crater Mt, 8000 ft, views of Cathedral Lakes

Chilliwack Valley, BC Difficult Hike Loop: Lindeman to Flora Lake, Mt. Wittenberg, wet snow.

Manning Park, BC Trail hike to summit of Frosty Mt. ~8000 ft, High point of Manning Park, Largest Larch trees in Canada.

Stein Valley, BC Internationally famous Biological Preserve, ancient Native Pictographs

Twin Sisters Range Attempted visit to botanically interesting sites blocked by flooding.

September

North Cascades Hwy Washington Pass Peak, Blue Lake, New Ross Lake Tr. (under construction)

Hannegan Trail Traverse: Hannegan Peak-Granite Peak-Skagit Range-Mamie Pass

Sea-Ski – Whistler - Lilloeet Lake, BC Various hiking, biking, and (in winter) ski outings explored. Four hotsprings in five days visited.

Lynn Valley, N. Van. Mt. Burwell & Mt. Coliseum high traverse. Views into Capilano Valley

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