I was assigned the planning and organization of the next hike. The request was for a bushwhack. I immediately considered the Nooksack Cirque near Mount Baker. When I was a freshman at Western, a roommate introduced me to a friend of his. A hiker. A climber. A college cross-country runner. A long distance runner in track. That was Larry. I went hiking with him once but never again. He was an animal on the trail. Once he knocked on my door early on a Saturday morning. The door separated us. He asked if I would go with him on a climb of Mt. Baker and that we would be back before dinner at the dining hall. No way. Three doors down the hall from my room was one of the toughest guys I have ever encountered. He was a quiet one. He didn't drink, smoke, or chase coeds. He did wrestle for Western.
Terry was a great wrestler.
We set off one Saturday morning for the Nooksack Cirque. We stopped by Larry's room to give an invite but his roommate said he had already left for a climb. Good. I thought this would be a pleasant hike without him. It turned out to be brutal for me. Not only did I struggle with the thick vine maples and bushwhacking along the shore of the Nooksack River, but I couldn't keep up with Terry. At times all I could do was see him. Later, I only heard him breaking his way through the brush. I didn't encounter Terry again until I found him on a flat rock having lunch. We left my old canvas pack on the rock and then explored further inside the cirque. When we returned we couldn't identify the lunch rock and I never did find my day pack. Thank goodness I had the keys to the car. Terry easily beat me back and probably would have driven off without me had he driven. It was a great day of exploring. Larry became Western's Top Athletic Accomplishment of the Century award winner in 1999. He broke ribs breathing on his ascent of Everest. He said it was like running a marathon with a pillow tied across the face. Terry became a teacher and a high school wrestling coach.
With that adventure in mind, I planned our next hike for the Nooksack Cirque.
I think everyone drove to the trailhead.
There is a trail for the first mile and a half. The winter storm damage hid it from us.
Someone gets the map out.
The first time we break out of the brush, we can see Icy Peak in the distance.
We follow the North Fork of Nooksack River before needing to bushwhack again.
We finally emerge from our last bushwhacking.
Someone cares for a blister.
Now all we have to do is follow the Nooksack.
Mount Ruth appears after we make it around one bend in the river.
Then Cloud Cap Peak (Seahpo) appears.
Rob is in training to be a sherpa by carrying Mary Lou.
The closer we get to the cirque the better the views.
You have to find your own route through the rocks.
Greg surveys the cirque from a few miles out.
We stop for lunch before rounding the last river bend.
At this point we are about seven miles into the hike.
Sharon has a bite to eat.
After lunch we venture closer to the cirque which we can hear from our lunch site. It was active in the warm spring weather.
We enjoy the spectacular views of the cirque. Ice chunks fell from the walls as we watched.
Tired after an eight mile hike, we soak in the warm sun and rest the legs while still listening to the avalanches in the distance.
I wonder if I looked for my old pack.
The huge boulders in the area catch Greg's and Rob's attention.
Rob is entertained while bouldering.
Well rested and not looking forward to the trek through the brush, we head back.
We look northwest down the valley carved by a long-ago glacier.
Sharon, Mary, and Greg make their way down stream.
You can hear the rocks in the river being tossed down stream.
Mary, Sharon, Rob, and unknown approach the bushwhacking section of the route.
The creek crossing.
We finally make it back to the trailhead after hiking 16 miles.
It was a long and satisfying day.
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