Railroad Grade Trail #603.2

Wildflowers at the ridge-line

Background:

This trail is a primary route taken by climbers seeking to summit Mount Baker. It is reached by taking Park Butte Trail #603 from Schreiber's Meadow and the trail-head to a junction approximately 2 miles in. Railroad Grade Trail follows the ridge-line of a glacial trough carved by Easton Glacier, one of Mount Baker's more prominent glaciers. Roughly 2 miles up the ridge, the trail changes from hiker's territory to a climber's domain.

While I had recently hiked in the general area, having done Ridley Creek to Mazama Camp on June 11, this was the first time I had accessed the area from Schreiber's Meadow since 2016.

FS 12 is accessed via Baker Lake Road, approximately 12 miles in from Highway 20. The road was in better shape than most typical Forest Service roads. My assumption is that this is due to the popularity of the trail-head. A few potholes were scattered along the route, but were not overly disruptive. FS 13 is located about 4 miles up FS 12. This road is less well maintained, and needed to be taken a bit slower, with pothole avoidance through most of the remaining drive.

The parking area at Schreiber's Meadow is huge, as far as trail-heads go. This is due to being one of the primary access points to climbing Mount Baker. In addition to a Mount Baker summit, this trail-head accesses Park Butte Lookout, Scott Paul Trail, Railroad Grade, and Bell Pass Trail. I reached the trail-head around 8am, and there were several vehicles already occupying spaces, including a couple vans that were obviously used by climbing parties. The area is well maintained, with 2 pit toilets, a horse camp, and a couple established campsites for one night stays for hikers.

The parking area at the trail-head

I secured my vehicle and began my way up the trail. The trail almost immediately forks, with the Scott Paul trail to the right. Immediately after, it crosses Sulphur Creek via a bridge. Schreiber's Meadow were my surroundings as I continued along a section of boardwalk and dirt trail. To my left a small wooded hill was visible. This is actually a cinder cone volcano. I believe that it is the only cinder cone on the flanks of Mount Baker. The trail passed along Huckleberry bushes and knee-high Heather as it meandered towards the forest.

The trail, through Schreiber's Meadow

Leaving the meadow behind and entering the forest, the trail became a bit rockier, and the sound of water gradually became apparent. I entered a rock-field that was obviously a dry seasonal stream bed. Immediately afterwards, Rocky Creek and the seasonal bridge came into view. The creek was flowing less abundantly than my last visit to this area.

Rocky Creek and the seasonal bridge.

After crossing Rocky Creek, the trail returned to dirt, with occasional wood elevated sections as the elevation gain commenced. This turned into a few switchbacks that were thankfully less severe than many I have seen.

About two miles in, I reached another trail junction, again with a section of Scott Paul Trail, again to the right. I continued left, remaining on Park Butte trail, which very quickly opened out into Morovitz Meadow. Views of Mount Baker and Park Butte were impressive and a joy to behold. Several more minutes of walking lead me to the junction of Railroad Grade and Park Butte.

Steps leading to established campsites and the ridge

Railroad Grade began with large stone steps up the side of a gradually inclined slope. Reaching the top of the slope, I found several established campsites, which I mentally filed away for future plans. Passing the campsites, the entire meadow became visible. A small section of snowfield remained in the shadow of Park Butte and Cathedral Crag, with hikers visible crossing it on their way down from Park Butte. To the right, the ridge-line of Railroad Grade was visible.

Park Butte and rapidly melting snowfield

I climbed the slight slope to the top of the ridge, and was greeted by views of the glacial trough and moraine, carved out by Easton Glacier. a braided stream flowed from the glacier to the terminus and beyond.

The trail, from this point onward, followed along the crest of the ridge, with meadow to the left, and the glacial trough to the right. Sections of trail had eroded as the ridge eroded down the side of the trough, and new sections of trail had been created by meandering further towards the meadow.

The trail following the ridge, overlooking the glacial trough

I followed the trail along the ridge for several hundred yards before deciding that my comfort level regarding heights and the potential for falling was wiser than my desire to walk an additional 2 miles along a ridge. I turned around and carefully made my way back to the more solid ground of the meadow.

This hike was less strenuous than I had anticipated, particularly since my prior memory of the area was as a new hiker with less acclimated legs. I have every intention to return again and overnight at one of the campsites, and to spend a day exploring the area.

Mount Baker and Easton Glacier, with the trail following the ridge of the glacial trough