I was glad I shook off the cobwebs of sleep and pushed myself out the door.  It was a beautiful day out on the trail and I enjoyed the company of another hiker talking about life for most of the way.  I split off to the Railroad Grade while they pushed on to Park Butte Lookout.

The Park Butte trail is really nice with well done box steps for the climb between meadows.  Granted, there are muddy, rocky, and rooty sections but nothing to write home (or report) about!  The seasonal bridge is still in place as well.  Peek-a-boo views keep you moving up the trail.

The Railroad Grade turnoff is a steep climb before dropping, them climbing again to the edge of the moraine before turning upwards.  The long, sheer drop off as you hike the edge of the glacial trough is dramatic and kept me hugging the edge on the far side.  It's obvious the trail has been here a long time but you can't always see over the edge to judge the stability of the tread on the way up.  The return definitely felt more relaxing as you see the edge better.  The views where I turned around were amazing in every direction.

Arrived at a mostly full trailhead around 10:15. The road is in good shape, just some washboarding and a few minor potholes, mostly after the last turnoff. 

First time hiking here and this trail is a dream - the elevation just disappears under your feet. Great tread and drainage. No huge steps until one short rooty section after the turnoff right before heading up the moraine ridge. The ridge feels a little exposed in places and I would not recommend that section for anyone afraid of heights, though note that the worst of it is right at the beginning. We went up to high camp and, having no views and chilly fingers, decided to turn around there. We did finally get some clearing on our way down though for a peekaboo view of Easton Glacier.

The highlights today were NO BUGS and ALL YOU CAN EAT HUCKLEBERRIES. Also a family of marmots, including 3 pups. 

10.9 miles and 6500 ft elevation today at railroad grade trail on Mt Baker. Started at 630 am there were a few parking spots at the trailhead, but after I was done cars were parked a mile down the road. About 3 miles in is railroad trail there are rocks as steps and few camping spots along the way. After that you come to the ridge, if your afraid of heights this might not be the trail for you. You are right in the edge, but views are amazing. Once you get through that it gets very rocky, loose rock. At 6500 ft is the last of the rock and the climb to Mt Baker starts and the snow begins. There are crevasse and a water fall that is where I stopped but the views are breathtaking. There were climbers everywhere. Made some chicken soup and made my way back. Bring clothes for warmth it is cold, I was there at noon. Very windy.

I'd give this railroad a grade of A+ 

Road: Mini van approved. 7/8 of the road is easy gravel then the last bit has some washboards and holes but it's definitely manageable.

TH: There are first come first serve campsites there. Parking fills up SUPER quickly. Pit toilets are available. There is a TH map that talks about camping and LNT along the routes.

Trail: The trail is a very well maintained and a steady grade. Additionally, it is well signed. The turn off from the Park Butte trail to Railroad is about 2 miles in and is denoted by a wooded post. Once you make that turn it gets step with stone steeps as you rise to a handful of platform campsites. The wildflowers start to pop around here and so does the sound of marmot metropolis! 

Eventually the trail hits the famous crest of the Easton glacier valley on your right and ridley creek valley on your left. You truly are walking a line on this divide. Unfortunately our ascent was in the clouds but can confirm Mt Baker is right there in plain view. The trail is clear, dusty, and lined with wildflowers. Following a straight path towards Mt Baker we eventually reached sandy camp. We mere day hikers were the outliers here among mainly mountaineers. Here the trail kind of peeters out but you are rewarded with stunning views of Baker, Lincoln peak, the twins, and easton glacier.

We decided to continue north and up by staying on the obvious rocky spine deviding the easton glacier and the deming. Eventually that terminated and we headed a .25 miles west to get a better view of Lincoln Peak and the deming glacier valley. It was truly stunning. We ate lunch and listened to rock fall. 

We retraced our steps and in total we went 11 miles with 3,700 feet of gain RT. 

Topped it off with a refreshing swim in Baker Lake! Couldn't recommend this hike any higher!

We did a round trip to Sandy Camp and it ended up being about 9 miles. We were planning to ice climb on the glacier at Mt Baker but turned around at Sandy Camp due to an injury flare-up. It was a beautiful day to see the Twin Sisters and hike. The creek crossing can be a bit sketchy but not dangerous since the water is not too "swift".