Mt. Baker, Boulder-Park Cleaver

Mt. Baker, named for the cartographer who sighted it for Captain George Vancouver in 1792, is known as €œKoma Lulshan€ to the Lummi tribe of Puget Sound, meaning €˜'broken or damaged''. The peak stands 15 miles south of the Canadian border and is the most northern most of the stratovolcanoes of the Cascade Range. Mt. Baker is the third highest peak in Washington. It is considered by geologists to be the next most likely of these volcanoes to show major activity. Fumaroles, thermal springs, and areas of warm ground remind us of that and of the potential for periodic releases of snow, rock and mud from Sherman Peak. The marine warm air from Puget Sound (just 30 miles away) brings a great deal of snowfall and glaciers which end up feeding three important rivers. Baker reclaimed the world record for single season snowfall in 1998-99, taking it from Rainier. Next to Rainier, Baker is the most glaciated peak in the lower 48 states. This route is seldom traveled and on moderate terrain.