An early Saturday morning start from Bothell and beautiful blue skies beckoned me northward to re-introduce my legs and lungs to the joy and solitude of hiking the high meadows of the Scott Paul (603.1) loop. I debated- full hiking boots or something lighter and chose weight over practicality. Marching counter-clockwise through the first several miles of old growth forest, I slogged across 30-plus snowy patches (before losing count), surprisingly little mud and a few detour provoking fallen giants. In about an hour I was in the clear- the saddle at 4600’ where the trail tops out. Conical Sherman Peak, (photo one) the 10,150’ south rim of sometimes steam-venting Sherman Crater loomed directly ahead, while to the east and south, craggy Mt. Shuksan and her alpine neighbors pierced the cloudless blue overhead. At my feet, instead of the expected meadow of heather and trail turning north toward the Scott Paul’s gardens, the white of many feet of snow covered the scene. Hmmm. So this is why I hadn’t found any recent trail reports posted, or seen another soul so far. I did pick up somewhat melted boot tracks though, and it aided greatly in keeping within shouting distance of where the actual trail lay until they petered out. Occasionally, I literally was able to walk on a small slice of trail, usually a brief brown segment edged in new green as vernal shoots re-awakened. But except for the higher islands of conifer and shrub, at each turning and new little ravine, was mostly untracked winter white. (photo two) A number of snow-melt rivulets heard but unseen under the frozen mantle added a sense of uncertainty to the challenge of way finding, with the Sulfur Creek crossing maximizing adrenal output. My sole company was a chorus of unseen marmot whistlers, one scurrying vole, and the recurrent meandering tracks of a lynx or bobcat searching for a next meal. Post holing missteps were counted in fewer than the average complement of digits and the absence of the seasonal suspension bridge over still manageably-sized Upper Rocky Creek proved an issue only of unwarranted advance mental anxiety. From the Railroad Grade side of the creek, I enjoyed walking the trail snow-free until it wound back into the trees and more lurking, persistent drifts. Once joining Park Butte trail (#603), there were a few more snowy patches and one trail blocking, summer defying behemoth that I reckoned at more than 10-feet in depth. Based on the trip, I’d guess lush gardens and wildflowers on the highest section of the Scott Paul likely are weeks away, as is the prospect of a mostly snow-free trek. There were lots of bugs, but I was never on the menu.

A lot's been written about these trails in recent WTA reports, so I won't bother with too many details (see other reports). An early start put me on the trail at 5:45 Friday morning. It'd been cloudy and somewhat overcast in the Sound for a few days, but I thought I'd take a chance... My karma must be high, because while I started the day with clouds and some light fog, it began to break up around the time I hit Lower Morovitz meadows. Nice views out over fog shrouded valleys, with the sun still low. Went up to check out the Park Butte area first (did the loop clockwise--more later) and saw a few groups just waking up. Had the lookout to myself--unlocked, but unmanned--and by this point, nothing above me but blue sky, with some cottony clouds still present down in the distant valleys. Spectacular. Spooked an owl from the scrubby firs just below the lookout, but wasn't fast enough on the draw for a pic. Only wildlife I saw the entire day, excepting the ubiquitous marmots. Descended back to Cathedral Pass, and started up Railraod Grade next. This is a nice trail along the crest of a lateral moraine formed by the Easton Glacier. Geology in the raw! Folks were just waking up in the camps along the trail, and I met a few climbers just descending from Baker. Kept heading up-and-up until the trail peters out somewhere above 7000' (you can reach well above High Camp this year...) Considered heading over to have a look at Deming, but knew I had the bulk of Scott Paul for my ""return trip"" so I decided to leave something for another time... Descended back down to Lower Morovitz to meet up with the Scott Paul trail. The SP is visible from the lower slopes of Railroad grade, making its way up the opposite (eastern) moraine on the other side of the upper reaches of Rocky Creek. You can see the Creek crossing (a small suspension bridge) from up here too, and when I was heaidng back down, saw someone taking the shortcut down the side of the moraine, instead of backtracking (in mileage and elevation) back to Lower Morovitz. I backtracked--getting there is part of the fun! THe westernmost fork of Rocky Creek is bridged with a nice suspension bridge, but no bridge across either the eastern fork of Rocky or over Sulphur Ck on the Scott Paul. No worries though--there were plenty of rocks and shallows to get across. I did see some folks with kids and some with a dog having difficulties at these crossings though. Looped back to the car clockwise on the Scott Paul, and found it a nicely-maintained and scenic trail (hadn't been on this part before). The northerly part rounds ridge after ridge into meadow after meadow. The flowers are well past peak, but should be gorgeous earlier in the year. The final 3 miles are all on the downhill, through nice lush forest--a nice grade for descending here, and mostly a nice soft forest tail--easy on the knees. This was a pretty decent dayhike. If you have the time, I'd recommend doing all the above as an overnighter, camping at one of the many sites near Cathedral Pass. Advantages of a clockwise loop: check out the Pk Butte lookout before the throngs get there; hit some of the higher country (like RR grade) before the sun gets too overwhelming; the best views of Baker on the Scott Paul; and a nice descent for the last 3 miles. Advantage to a CCW loop: I bet the view from the Pk Butte Lookout would be awesome at sunset, then it's a quick descent. Shown in the pics: Mt Baker and Easton Glacier from the RR grade, and Baker from the Scott Paul.

Most of these 3 trails, which can be done in one day including a nice loop, is in wide open spaces, with views in all directions. Park Butte Lookout is completely equipped and easy to get to. The view in all directions is staggering. The first photo is from inside the lookout looking toward Mt. Baker. The second photo is one of the tarns on the way up to the lookout. The Railroad Grade trail goes right up the knife edge top of a moraine created by the Easton Glacier,and is scary when you first look over the edge. It takes a few minutes to get your feet under you, but then it's fine. It goes up and up and up as far as you care to go, literally. I went to just above high camp. The Scott Paul trail, which finishes the loop, goes in and out of several moraines, the crossings of which were easy, attains some high, lonesome country, and ends up in forest for the return. I saw many, many people on the first two segments, but not a soul on the Scott Paul trail. Doing all three trails makes the hike approximately 12 miles, with about 3800 feet elevation gain.

My two friends and I attempted to hike the Scott Paul loop trail counter clockwise. The first two miles the trail was quite good as far as being easy to walk on -- not too rocky or treacherous. It was nice that most of the steep inclines were in the shady forest. Coming out of the forest into the first meadow was dramatic and awe inspiring. The views are heavenly and it's a nice place for a lunch break. The flies were extremely annoying, though, and even though it was a very warm day, I felt compelled to put on my hooded sweatshirt while I ate, just so the little buggers wouldn't drive me insane! Insect repellent helped a little but they were still swarming. After we ate and rested a little we proceeded with the loop and discovered that had we gone a little further past our picnic area, the meadows were even more spectacular with wild flowers and there seemed to be more breeze and fewer bugs. However, after we had gone about a mile (+/-?) past the first meadow we came to a washout. The mountain runoff was moving fast and forming a series of waterfalls. We watched a few other hikers getting across with the help of hiking poles and long leaps from rock to rock, but after pondering this for about 20 minutes, we decided not to take the risk of getting wet or worse. We didn't have poles and none of us have very long legs. We were somewhat disappointed that we wouldn't be able to finish the loop but decided that this was a good turnaround place and that the hike was still beautiful and satisfying.

Much of the hike-trails for the National Forest/Park system in Washington State represents a repeating pattern of “access trail” to “Pacific Crest Trail” and if it is a “day” hike, we walk the same route back to the original trailhead. It all makes for wonderful lasting memories in the great outdoors, but occasionally there is room for trail-creativity in the form of a ”loop” back to the car that can keep the sights fresh for the entire walk, and that is exactly the case for “Scott Paul”. We began the west-loop through Schrieber Meadows and enjoyed the reasonable elevation-gain through the “timber” escalating to views of several glacier-snouts, which were further upstaged by the domineering presence of Sherman, Shuksan and, of course, Baker peaks. Exiting the overlooked decadent trees of yesteryears loggers, I carefully walked the fields of boulders, lovely wildflowers, and frequent flecks of sulfur that, packaged together, was unworldly enough to resemble a Star Trek hollywood-set. The murky streams pulling out of the ice are too unappetizing to depend on, so bring plenty of water for that part of the walk. A part of the walk that is not only in full-sun, but continually present with the above mentioned mountains, as well as multiple peaks and snow-giants to the south, including “Glacier”. These alpine views further include the extraordinary mountain raised-spine supporting the “railroad grade” trail to the west, as well as glimpses of the human-flypaper-like popularity of the Park Butte Lookout. Five or six hours will get most of us through the entire loop of “Scott Paul”, but it might make more sense to be more leisurely about taking in the natural beauty and alpine serenity of a part of the planet that most-folks do not get to see.