Hiking Log: Schreiber Meadow Loop
Hiking Log: Scott Paul Trail to Park Butte Trail, following the ridge along Schreiber Meadow (South Mt. Baker)
Mileage: 8
Time: 4 hrs, 10 minutes
Buttkicking Factor: 2 "getting in shape" Mt. Baker stars out of 5. I took the route up Scott Paul and down Park Butte, which may or may not have been easier than the other way around. It did not seem to be a really tough hike, but I'm also getting in decent hiking condition again.
I cannot believe I forgot my camera. Yes, I took a few shots with my phone, but although the Samsung camera is decent, it just didn't capture the amazingness of this hike. For such a breezy hike, this was downright luscious. The alpine meadows were a rainbow of color - fully blooming pink heather, blue lupines, yellow daisy-like flowers, mauve daisies, white bunches of something I used to know. ("Flowers that I uuuusssed to know...." That'd be a great song, less whiny than the original hit.)
I'm very partial to alpine meadows, and this was a good one. I've been up to Schreiber on and off since I was a kid, but I don't think I've ever hiked the entire loop. I don't think the loop existed before a few years ago. The Scott Paul branch of the trail is fairly recent, I believe. In any case, this was the best, most picturesque jaunt I've been on in a while. There was one dicey water crossing, but decent with a pair of trekking poles. Amazing views of Mount Baker and various glaciers, flowers in riotous colors like a circus tent, ridge walking, valley walking in what is the graveyard of an ancient glacier, an amazing swingy bridge, high peaks everywhere, and finally, blueberries perfectly in season. 10/10, would hike again. Would hike again tomorrow, if I didn't have to work.
This was also the maiden voyage of my Inreach satellite communicator/safety beacon/GPS device. I received a message from a pre-arranged tester. I sent messages back. I tracked my progress. 4 or 5 people watched my hike remotely on the web portal-- my beacon pinged my location every ten minutes, and overlaid my progress on a map that they could access. If the lady who followed my river crossing had lost her footing and was swept away, I could have hit the SOS button for immediate SAR notification--more or less--with my exact coordinates. (Or, alternately, gone to help her.) Overall, a good day.
Here's a screenshot from the Inreach web portal. Each blue dot represents the location ping every ten minutes. Cannot believe the resolution on their maps!
ETA: That short distance between the two dots on the right hand side? That's where I had to climb over a freaking enormous tree. Took forever.
Mileage: 8
Time: 4 hrs, 10 minutes
Buttkicking Factor: 2 "getting in shape" Mt. Baker stars out of 5. I took the route up Scott Paul and down Park Butte, which may or may not have been easier than the other way around. It did not seem to be a really tough hike, but I'm also getting in decent hiking condition again.
I cannot believe I forgot my camera. Yes, I took a few shots with my phone, but although the Samsung camera is decent, it just didn't capture the amazingness of this hike. For such a breezy hike, this was downright luscious. The alpine meadows were a rainbow of color - fully blooming pink heather, blue lupines, yellow daisy-like flowers, mauve daisies, white bunches of something I used to know. ("Flowers that I uuuusssed to know...." That'd be a great song, less whiny than the original hit.)
I'm very partial to alpine meadows, and this was a good one. I've been up to Schreiber on and off since I was a kid, but I don't think I've ever hiked the entire loop. I don't think the loop existed before a few years ago. The Scott Paul branch of the trail is fairly recent, I believe. In any case, this was the best, most picturesque jaunt I've been on in a while. There was one dicey water crossing, but decent with a pair of trekking poles. Amazing views of Mount Baker and various glaciers, flowers in riotous colors like a circus tent, ridge walking, valley walking in what is the graveyard of an ancient glacier, an amazing swingy bridge, high peaks everywhere, and finally, blueberries perfectly in season. 10/10, would hike again. Would hike again tomorrow, if I didn't have to work.
This was also the maiden voyage of my Inreach satellite communicator/safety beacon/GPS device. I received a message from a pre-arranged tester. I sent messages back. I tracked my progress. 4 or 5 people watched my hike remotely on the web portal-- my beacon pinged my location every ten minutes, and overlaid my progress on a map that they could access. If the lady who followed my river crossing had lost her footing and was swept away, I could have hit the SOS button for immediate SAR notification--more or less--with my exact coordinates. (Or, alternately, gone to help her.) Overall, a good day.
Here's a screenshot from the Inreach web portal. Each blue dot represents the location ping every ten minutes. Cannot believe the resolution on their maps!
ETA: That short distance between the two dots on the right hand side? That's where I had to climb over a freaking enormous tree. Took forever.