Yellow Aster Butte hike, goal completed!

 Monday's hike choice was Yellow Aster Butte. I'd hiked it twice before but never reaching the top. 

Those times were each with Senior Trailblazers. 

You can read about those hikes here: 2014's sunny day hike & 2015's cloudy day hike.

I had told my husband of my desire to get to the top (the south summit) and he said we would get there. 

We left early in the morning to fog at our house so we really didn't know if we'd get the sunny day that was forecast. 

The 5 mile road to the trailhead had many potholes so we were rocking and rolling all the way up.

Fingers crossed and with my nerves and hopes in a heightened state I began the journey up the trail.

My husband and Scoutina at the trail register.

Views were beginning to appear as we made our way up in the open. 

Yay, the sunny skies that were forecast came true.

Mushrooms were plentiful along the trail again on this hike.

Scoutina enjoying a flatter section of the trail.

After hiking in the forest section we came out into the open.

A bit of fall color was making an appearance on the bushes.

A view of our destination in the distance

This was the only snow patch along our route, much different than the 2014 & 2015 trips

More fall color

A view of Shuksan and Mt. Baker

After passing the saddle where we had stopped on the 2014 journey we rounded the corner and I spotted these two Marmots lounging on a rock below us. *A zoomed in photo.

The next section was all new to me, not only because it was a clear day with views but in our 2015 journey we turned around before reaching the top.

Views of Mt. Baker, Keep Kool butte and the Tomyhoi tarns. 

Our family has been to the tarns and Tomyhoi peak on a few different hikes way back in our hiking past. In those days the route was by way of the Keep Kool trail there was no Yellow Aster butte trail. I haven't been to the top of Tomyhoi, I only went to the saddle before the summit. My husband has been to the top several times. We've camped the tarns. So it was nice to look down into that area once again.

Looking in the distance at Tomyhoi peak.

First view of the Border peaks. U.S. on the right with the reddish area and the Canadian border peak on the left.

Now the trail goes up in earnest.

It was a grind for the last tenth of a mile or so up to the top but well worth the effort. 

Scoutina enjoying the views from the top of the South Summit.

360 video view from the top

We were the only ones at the top for quite awhile, so plenty of time to soak it all in without interruption.

The true summit of Yellow Aster butte in the distance between the Border peaks in the photo below. I didn't feel the need to go to the highest summit, the rounded part of the South summit was a perfect ending place.

Heading back down the trail I noticed the other side of a rock we had walked beside.

In on the photo below you'll see my husband and Scoutina patiently waiting for me to make my way down from the top.

A closer look

I liked how relaxed Scoutina was as they waited.

Enjoying fall colors and Shuksan

Very few flowers were out, just some purple Aster and some very short Paintbrush.

More fall color

A last look at where we'd been. 

We heard many Marmots as we made our way back down the trail. I took a recording of their calls. 

You can listen to the audio file HERE.

As we hiked we talked with some Forest Service workers. While we had been hiking they had dug a new support hole for the trail junction sign. This is the same signpost as the one in the photo in the beginning of this blogpost, just more sun and taken from a different angle.

Heart rocks along the trail

Our last view of Mt. Baker from the trail as we made our way towards the trailhead. The evening's shadows were beginning to spread as the sun was lowering in the west.

A memory photo from years ago I decided to include, this is from a trip my husband did years ago to Yellow Aster butte with some friends and our Malamute "Lexis"💓

Trail rating: Hard

Total miles hiked: 8.8

Total ascent: 2628

*we've seen distances anywhere from  7 - 81/2 miles for this hike on various trip planning websites depending on your final destination.

Hiking to the top of the south summit of Yellow Aster Butte was everything I had hoped for: 

that top of the world feeling

views forever

knowing that I gave it all I had to get there

This hike was one of my Summer bucket list hikes. It meant so much to me to get to the top. It's one of the harder hikes I've done in awhile

I finally did it!

Park Butte Lookout hike

 We were influenced by the weather report for yesterday's hike. Out of the week this seemed the best day for some periods of sun in the area of our destination, so off we went for the long drive to the Schriebers meadow trailhead parking lot. I've only done this hike with our family in Sept. of 2014 and on a backpacking trip in 2019. Yesterday we drove up into clouds as we did for our Scott Paul hike in August. We began our hike at 11 am. My Garmin seems to give us more mileage than their signs state. I always take the longer distance as my total!

On our Scott Paul hike in August we turned right at this trail junction, but today we stayed left.

The skies weren't too dark at our start, I was hopeful for some views.

After the meadow creek crossing.

At the Railroad grade junction we stayed left and continued our uphill climb into the clouds.

We found a nice log to sit on for our lunch break and Scoutina found some prime sticks for chewing on.

There was a breeze that kept blowing the clouds around and after lunch I put on a hat and gloves, it was getting pretty chilly. 

Our view as we headed into the first water pond area just below Cathedral camp.

The trail junction for Mazama camp. Cathedral camp and Park Butte Lookout. We stayed left all others turned right.

Heading into the rocky ascent area.

The tarns were barely visible with the low clouds.

I hiked ahead of my husband for a bit and turned around and saw him faintly in the distance.

The entering Wilderness area sign visible on a tree. The next section of the trail was fairly steep but not for too long.

I was hoping it wouldn't be too cloudy to see when we were at the Lookout and it was nice to see that it was visible. We had decided that the drop off on the rock wasn't a good place to let Scoutina try out her climbing skills, so I went on ahead while they waited below. I climbed up the rock area alongside the tree branch that is fixed to the rocks.

Photo to show I made it and to show the "no view"

You can see what the view can be, in this photo taken on 2014 while on our family hike.

Another view from the lookout taken yesterday.

A look at my husband and Scoutina waiting for me below.

Time to go down the short section of steps and rocks.

Working our way down the trail from the Lookout.

We had some hope that we could possibly get some views as the clouds moved around. We did get some small peeks here and there. We thought we saw a Mt. Goat in the rockfall area to the left of the lake below, but the clouds moved in before we could confirm it.

Scoutina enjoying the small views.

Back to walking in the clouds.

We heard the shrill whistle of a Marmot and my husband spotted it. I was able to get a zoomed in photo of it. We heard several Pika but never saw one.

This would have been our view of Mt. Baker had it been clear.

A mirage like view of a hill in the distance.

The lower we got of course the clearer the sky and the warmer the temperature.

The creek below had barely any depth when we crossed it earlier, there was no need to rock hop & my shoes didn’t wet, but when we came back it had risen to ankle height on Scoutina. My shoes got wet this time, but mostly because I just walked right through.

Lots of mushrooms along the trail. Here was a patch of poisonous Amanita mushrooms.

I love the last section with it's meadow walk.

I enjoyed the views, the colors and the Blueberries.

A couple of heart rocks I saw on the trail.

We didn’t get the views we had hope for but it was a fun adventure, I’m glad we reached our destination.

Trail rating: Moderate hard

Total miles hiked: 8.7

Total ascent: 2147