Trip Date: August 14-15, 2004

Mt. Blum Climbing Trip

Baker River Bridge
Blum Lakes
Mount Blum (7680 ft)

Trip Report Summary

Region: Northwestern Washington Cascades

Sub-Region: Lower Skagit Mountains

Area: North Cascades National Park

Starting & Ending Point: Baker River Trailhead at end of Baker Lake Road (Elev. 800 feet)

Way Points: Baker River Bridge & Blum Creek & Blum Creek Ridge & Middle Blum Lake (trail hike & off-trail hike & bushwhack)

Campsite: Middle Blum Lake (Elev. 5000 feet)

Sidetrip: Upper Blum Lake (off-trail hike & rock scramble)

Summit: Mt. Blum (off-trail hike & rock scramble via Southwest Slope—South Chute—South Slope)

Approximate Stats: 9 miles traveled; 7000 feet gained & lost.

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Full Trip Report

Day 1 (AM): Trailhead to Blum Lakes

Kevin and I headed out from the bustling Baker Lake & Baker River Trailhead on a warm Saturday morning, bound for Mt. Blum via the Blum Creek Ridge approach.  About 10 minutes up the trail, we crossed the Baker River on an impressive suspension bridge.  Just at the far end, we encountered a somewhat distraught-looking hiker coming toward us.

We exchanged greetings and were surprised to learn that he, too, was heading for Mt. Blum, but he had spent the last hour or more looking for a reasonable route up the hillside.  This solo climber turned out to be Dave Creeden, whom Kevin and I had met on Three Fingers several years ago!  We joined forces and worked as a trio for the remainder of the trip.

Based on Beckey’s sketchy and outdated approach description, as well as some recent route information by Steve Fox, we left the main trail just before (north of) Blum Creek—at a discouragingly low elevation of 800 feet.  After 15 minutes of crashing through devils club, ferns, and deadfall, we stumbled upon a faint path leading alongside the creek.  This path gradually became more defined and veered away from the creek as it climbed the steep shoulder of Blum Creek Ridge.  We grunted upward through the hot, humid, stagnant air, each of us hoping our water supply would hold out long enough to reach Blum Lakes.  At least we had shade…and no bugs.

Although the path periodically faded in undergrowth, we managed to regain it each time until approximately elevation 5100 feet.  At this point, we began traversing around the ridge’s right (south) side through moderate forest and light huckleberry brush until encountering a long talus slope.  The two lowest Blum Lakes became visible below and ahead.

We angled down to the 5000-foot upper and larger of these two lakes (a “middle lake” really), arriving at a suitable campsite near the outlet just after 2:30pm (5.1 hours from car).  These scenic little lakes were a blessed sight on this steamy afternoon!  We rested by the shore and discussed our options for the remaining day.  Although we all felt a bit worn down by the heat and effort, an early morning exit sounded very appealing, so we decided to make our summit push right away.

Day 1 (PM): Mt. Blum Summit Climb

At 3:45pm, we left camp and scrambled southeastward up a sandy gully to an upper lake at 5700 feet.  This lake—another of the five or six Blum Lakes—had an exquisite emerald green color and was surrounded by orange-tinted, glacially polished, granite slabs.  We skipped across the outlet stream and ascended the delightful slabs in a northeasterly direction.  Above the slabs, rather than heading for Mt. Blum’s south ridge saddle, we turned northward and scrambled a Class 2 gully.

This gully transitioned into heathery slopes, from where we could see a snow couloir leading directly toward the summit pyramid.  (We noticed that several tarns perched on the heather benches here would make for a dandy high camp!)

Kevin and I had carried ice axes, so we ascended the snow couloir, while Dave scrambled talus and scree along the edge.  Above this couloir, gentle snow slopes and a scree gully got us to the east ridge crest, which provided fun, blocky scrambling to reach the broad summit area.  We were on top shortly before 6:00pm (2.2 hours from camp).

Some industrious persons (likely an early survey crew) have built a large cairn on the summit.  Tucked into the rocks, we found a partially crushed, lightning-pierced, aluminum capsule containing a bunch of stapled papers and several loose sheets rolled up in a pepperoni bag.  All in all, it was a sorry state of affairs.

What this register lacks in elegance, however, it makes up for in historical significance:  it records Mt. Blum’s infrequent ascents throughout the past seven decades, dating back to a 1945 climb by Fred Beckey and company!  Granted, the oldest entries have been transcribed into typewritten form, but the chronology is nonetheless fascinating.  For instance, Fred’s party got to the summit the old-fashioned way—they earned it—whereas the next two or three ascents were made by USGS personnel with helicopter assistance.

We would like to have lingered on the summit but were hastened off by the late hour, the approach of dark storm clouds, and the sight of lightning farther east.  Rain seemed imminent.  We retraced our ascent route and arrived back in camp at dusk (1.6 hours from summit).  The evening air was so warm, I took a plunge in the lake before dinner.  We chatted with another group of climbers who had come up to the lake after us and were camped nearby;  they intended to climb the North Ridge route the next day.

Day 2: Blum Lakes to Trailhead

Several episodes of light rain punctuated the mild, calm night.  Each time, Kevin and I had to pull our bivouac sacks closed, whereas Dave slept soundly in his little tent.  By morning, though, the sky was again cloudless.  We arose at 5:45 and headed out an hour later.  Our descent went pretty well, as we managed to stay on the path more than we had during our ascent.  We strolled into the still-bustling trailhead area at 9:40am (2.9 hours from camp).

Route Comments

Beckey’s route description contains several confusing, outdated, and/or erroneous statements.  Specifically, he mentions something called Griner’s Shelter (who knows where that is?), alludes to fording the Baker River (not necessary now, thanks to the new suspension bridge), refers to “Blue Creek” (should be “Blum Creek”), and says to head for a spur ridge “east” of Blum Creek (he undoubtedly meant “north”).  Otherwise, his directions are reasonably accurate, even with regard to the ridge being “relatively easy travel.”

I’d toss in the following supplemental comments.  Leave the main trail at a point about 175 yards downstream of the Baker River suspension bridge and about 25 yards upstream of the stringer bridge over Blum Creek.  The path is initially very faint but does get you through the valley-bottom unpleasantries with minimal grief.  If you lose the path, simply angle southeastward and regain it along the northern bank of Blum Creek.

This path follows the bank for a while, then veers left at about 2200 feet, veers right and crosses a tiny draw at about 2900 feet, climbs atop a narrow rock rib at about 3300 feet, and begins traversing around the south side of the ridge at about 4800 feet.  Even where the path fades out, a fairly brush-free route can be found through the denser stands of forest.  It would be an error, however, to expect a quaint little fishermen’s path leading you into Blum Lakes;  this baby is relentlessly steep and hopelessly dry!

Equipment Comments

We didn’t really need ice axes or crampons, due to this summer’s very low snowpack;  the entire climb could be done on rock that never exceeds Class 3.  Unavoidable snow patches would likely be encountered in earlier season, warranting an ice axe.

Photo Gallery

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