Chasing Dreams: On top of the world

Today was British Columbia day, a local bank holiday. Last year we were caught in amongst hoards of people so this time we decided we wanted to be far from the maddening crowds. So it was that we hatched a plan to head into the wild.

We packed our backpacks and headed for Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest over the border in Washington.

It rained this week for the first time in over a month (the driest month here since the '30s) so we figured only mad dogs and Englishmen (and women) would be heading for the backcountry in the rain.

It's about two hours away with an extra hour sat waiting at the border. Once we crossed into Washington the dueling banjos started to chime in our heads as we passed endless signs about God and the odd advertisement for guns.

With advice from some extremely friendly locals we were heading into the hills by mid afternoon. The sun had come out by this point and it was very hot so we were relieved to discover most of the 4.5 miles were in the shade of incredible forest. It was a steady climb, over 3,500 feet, through ever changing forest and wild flower meadows to reach the summit of Excelsior Pass. It was on top of the pass we set up camp for the night.

On Sunday morning we woke around seven and headed to Duphine lakes, about 1.5 miles from where we had camped. We left the tent and heavy packs on top of the pass so it was a nice stroll there and back.

Later on Sunday we had breakfast, packed our kit up and headed straight uphill on High Divide. It was a super steep start, with weight on our backs and the sun beating down on us. Charlotte was not happy! However, once we got into the rhythm of the day and found some shade her smile returned. The horse flies and mosquitoes were pretty ferocious so we did most of the 6ish miles to Welcome Pass without stopping (when you did stop they swarmed you).

We reached Welcome Pass at about 2 and immediately found a shady spot to put the tent up where we then spent most of the afternoon hiding from insects.