Quick jaunt in the North Cascades near Mt Baker.

From the Twin Lakes road reached the trailhead around noon. I had planned on camping around the Elbow Lake area but a misread Google Maps let me to a closed road, missing my appointment with the PNTA work party :(

Decided to drive north towards the Mt Baker ski area and check out the trails around there. Yellow Aster Butte seemed like a good short hike with high payoff. Began gaining elevation quickly. Soon enough I had alpine flowers and great views of Mt Baker and Mt Shuksan. Reached the turnoff to the campgrounds and continued up to the butte to take in the views.

Back to the trail I took the split that leads to the campgrounds in the basin below. There were many tarns and a handful of tents scattered around the large area. It didn't look like there were too many good trees for hammocking in the area so I planned on taking the Tommihoi trail up to a good viewpoint, then coming back down to look for camping in the treeline. Climbed the steep trail for a while until I got to the point where it drops sharply to a saddle. Turned around there and took in more great mountain views. Reached the campgrounds around 6 & decided to take a closer look at some tree stands for possible hammock opportunities as the views were nice. I found some decent trees for hanging close to a family with tents, but not so close that it would be rude. Relaxed for a while until dinner time.

Enjoyed dinner & a beer with nice sunset over Shuksan. Had forgotten to bring insulation for the hammock & it did get a little chilly at night but was able to fashion padding with sitpad and my pack to keep warm.

Up early to make an appointment in Sedro & quick hike down on a nice cool morning.

Next time - I'll bag Tommyhoi.

Fun facts

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