Maple Grove at Baker Lake

Signpost at our hike's start

Melanie and I decided to take a long drive to the start of one of our favorite hikes: Maple Grove, which begins at Baker Lake South. It's a long drive to the south of Bellingham, through Sedro-Woolley and then a drive down Baker Lake Road until we get to the road that allows us to drive across the dam. From there, it's a short distance to the trailhead.

The day was sunny and cool

Along this trail, we can hike to Anderson Point, about two miles from the start, where many overnight campers were headed. There are numerous beautiful places to camp there, but if a person wants to go even farther, the next spot, another two miles along the trail, is Maple Grove. That is where we went today.

Green and gorgeous

There were so many beautiful streams to cross, including this one, and I've never before seen so many maidenhair ferns (my favorites). I guess because of our wet spring, they have come out everywhere there was water.

Our first view of Mt Baker from the trail

Baker Lake is such a wonderful place to visit, and the view of the mountain from the trail is one of the best. You can see the lake through the trees, but I wanted to capture that lovely mountain from this vantage point. We were on our way to the lake, anyway.

Deer ferns and foam flowers

I took several pictures trying to capture the magnificent greenery along the way, and although this picture doesn't really show you how beautiful it is, it's the best one I got today. We kept going until we got to Maple Grove and the lake.

Lake, mountain, and relaxing teen

There are times when the lake is so smooth that you can see the mountain's reflection perfectly. Not today, but what that meant is that there was a light breeze that helped to keep us comfortable all day. We had lunch here, and there were plenty of campers everywhere, along with day hikers like us. It was definitely a great day to be there.

Mel and the magic cedar tree

I've taken pictures in front of this tree before, but this one, of Melanie, is so good that I had to share it with you. She's wearing her new hat on its maiden journey into the forest, not to be the last one either, I'm sure. We were close to the end of our trip by the time I took this picture. 

Once we made it back to the car, we drove home while we each enjoyed an ice-cold ginger beer that Mel pulled out of a cooler. It was altogether a pretty perfect day, and we traveled a little more than eight miles out and back, and up and down over 1,500 feet of elevation. What a day! I'll definitely sleep well tonight.

:-)