Baker River — Saturday, Jul. 15, 2023

We camped at the end of Baker River trail (Sulphide Creek Camp, permit required) on Saturday 7/15. Such a wonderful trail! There is a lot of enormous old growth, and the trail was peaceful and quiet except for the sound of the river.

The trail is in good shape for the first 1/2 - 2/3 of the way, and someone has been through recently to trim overgrown brush. However after that point it's a little overgrown the rest of the way. I was wearing shorts and it wasn't that bad, but long pants are probably preferable.

There is a big washout blow down that was a little challenging to get across, especially with big overnight backpacks. On the way back there was an obvious alternate path that was both safer and more clearly established than the one we took on the way in. I've attached a photo to show where to turn off to take that path. It has branches in front which means "don't go this way," but I strongly recommend going this way because it's an established trail (you won't be stomping through meadow) and safer than the loose dirt in a steep section out of the washout.

We were the only people at the campsite, which was so nice. The river is a few dozen yards away and has a fantastic view of Shuksan. The stars were absolutely fantastic from the dry rocks next to the river (which are surely part of the river in spring).

Road conditions: The dirt road to the trailhead was totally fine for our sedan (minus the flat tire we got on the way back). We arrived around 5pm on Saturday and there were several open parking spots. Vault toilet wasn't unbearable.