Mt. Baker

The search for snow was finally a success. Dylan, Mac, and I didn't even need to venture far to find the perfect snow frosted evergreens that we were looking for. After a morning spent drinking coffee and editing pictures, we were finally ready to head out of the home base and into the wilderness. We started our trip with a quick stop at our favorite local bagelry, called, The Bagelry! We picked up our usual: bialy bagels with feta dill cream cheese. Garlic doesn't scare us away! We also stopped at our local grocer to grab some survival snacks because we planned to camp out near Mount Baker. With a basket full of Cheez-its, goldfish, candy, pretzels, a banana, and other miscellaneous treats, we were ready to conquer our day!

On our way up to the top of the mountain, we made two more brief stops. One was for Dylan at Subway...no joke. The next stop was to grab some warm americanos and a dog treat for Mac at a cafe called Wake and Bakery. After a steady ascend to the ski chalets, we pulled over and let my dog run through the snow for his very first time. Mac absolutely loved it! His legs got stuck in the deep snow, but his energy pulled him out of every ditch. After a very wet and cold trek through our first snow fall of the year, we decided to head back down the mountain because it was too rainy to take any pictures.

On our way down, Dylan insisted we take a secret road he had been meaning to show me. As we drove through the mossy entrance, we started to climb alongside the rainy ridge. We followed this road for many miles until we came across a valley that was perfect for a picture. Ambitious as we are, we decided to pop the tent to capture a foot shot with Mac in it. 25% into this process of setting up, we quickly regretted it. It was way too rainy and messy. We were not feeling it, so we put the tent down and continued up the mysterious road. It was only about 3:30pm before we started to search for our camp spot. We had given up on taking pictures and just focused on surviving the weather and enjoying time away from the city. The rivers in this area are a key feature that demonstrated how wet it was. The rivers were flowing at an extremely high level and it was scary to watch the raging water rush down over its bank. This was a sign we had a very wet night ahead of us. We eventually chose an open spot off of the road to pitch tent. We would usually choose a forested spot, but with the many fallen trees, we thought we would stay clear of that hazard. With our treehouse set up, we pulled out the snacks and DVD player and had an outdoor movie night. We watched two movies before falling asleep, but was so much fun to hang out with Dylan and Mac in our remote mobile cabin. It was cozy and perfect, and always a good feeling to wake up in the mountains.

When we woke up the next day, we tried to pack up the tent as fast as possible to avoid any moisture-everything was still very soaked. We then went back to the Wake and Bakery to grab some coffee and pastries. This time we headed up towards Heliotrope to spot the glacier. As we climbed the mountain, the temperature started to drop and the trees started to accumulate snow. When we arrived at the trail head, we were in a winter dream! The area was spot-on scenic, and I only wished I had a sled. We immediately started to take pictures. I can not even explain how magical it felt, I love how the light reflects off the snow. And the fact that Mac was having a blast just enabled me to take pictures of him. It was such a cool experience and I am already aching to get back in the snow!