Dock Butte and Blue Lake. Oh, and we bought a house.

We love backpacking in Washington and try to get out in the wilderness every weekend that we can. So when a free weekend appeared in June with a strong forecast for the northern lights to be far south, we decided to head to a butte that was a short hike with some fast elevation gain - the real gain was getting up into the open sky and the 360 degree view of the Cascades and the Salish Sea.

Dock Butte is the unknown neighbor to Park Butte, one of the more well-known trails in our region since it gets you right up next to Mt. Baker. Dock Butte isn't as close to Baker, which we figured was a good thing since we were hoping to see the northern lights (we didn't want no stinkin' volcano blockin' the view). In my photo of the Butte (to the left) you can see the trail heading straight up to the top - where there is space for exactly one small tent. There was a longer and more gentle trail to the right of the Butte that you normally can't take due to snow pack. But since we basically had no snow this past winter, that trail was safer and easier to take to the top. And it was loaded with wildflowers and views of the Cascades!

Look at this view from the top! We figured the hot weather would cool off once we gained some elevation but instead we continued to fry at the top of the butte. To make matters more entertaining, there were a ton of bugs! Not enough to merit our headnets, but close. I'm managing to take in the view in this photograph, but really we spent most of our time attempting to read National Geographic while swatting bugs away with a spare shirt. I love hot weather, so I'll take it even if that means bugs are part of the deal.

After we ate dinner we retired to tent to watch the sunset in a bug-free space. Jay was thrilled!

 Shuksan

 

Wilderness

I was so excited about potentially seeing the northern lights (last time I saw them I was living in SE Alaska) that I didn't get a wink of sleep. We kept the rainfly off the tent, so we had a spectacular view of the stars all night. But the moon was a bit too bright and the day a bit too long - so it never got super dark. I also think the aurora didn't make it as far south as predicted for that evening. A bummer for sure, but not a big deal. The view was pretty darn awesome just the way it was...

Baker Lake and the Cascades

 Heading back down early in the morning to beat the heat and the bugs

 Scoping out Blue Lake as a potential spot for a swim. It happened and it was awesome! 

All the photos can be found here: https://picasaweb.google.com/111221596171793333099/June2015?authkey=Gv1sRgCIXA5KD58ZmkhAE

Oh - and in other news....we bought a house! We actually bought the house we have been renting for the past four years. One of my rules in the house-buying discussions is that the house cannot change our way of life. We still have to take a vacation somewhere not in America each year. And if the weather is nice, we still must backpack and play outside. House projects are for the winter. Well, I'm already losing that battle. Jay was so excited about renovating the kitchen that the cabinet doors were down for their paint job before we even closed. So here I am writing a blog on the couch while he works. I guess I'll go for a jog and help the poor guy. At least I know the next two weekends will not involve house renovation stuff because we won't be here! We are heading back east to spend some time on the beach with Jay's family and time in the Adirondack Mountains with my family. Yippeeee!  

Here is the kitchen without cabinet doors... the old electric range in the back has already been replaced with a new gas range. YES! That was the first thing to go and these two folks who love to cook are stoked about gas! And say bye bye to all that old 80s wood and hello to off-white and wrought iron hardware. Hope it looks good!