Marmot Ridge

Marmot Ridge, west of Mt. Baker and immediately west of Lincoln and Seward Peaks (two of the Black Buttes), divides the Warm Creek and Wallace Creek Valleys. It connects to Grouse Ridge to the north and Heliotrope Ridge to the north and east.

Some destinations I pick from guide books, some are recommended by friends, and some look interesting on a map. This trip falls into the last category. Some time ago, I noticed a short trail to Grouse Ridge from FR36 (FR3600) on the Mount Baker map (1998) of the International Travel Maps series. The trail is shown on the USGS 1:100000 Groat Mountain quadrangle as well. It is not shown on the 7.5' Groat Mountain quadrangle or the Snoqualmie National Forest map nor is it described in 100 Hikes in the North Cascades or the Cascade Alpine Guide.

Viewed recently from point 5005' south of Lake Wiseman, Grouse Ridge and neighboring Marmot Ridge appeared to offer pleasant off-trail travel in an appealing setting. The topographical map supported this and suggested that the basin below Thunder Glacier and the steep west faces of Lincoln and Seward Peaks might be reached easily as well.

I left Seattle at 08:00 PDT and after a couple of short stops reached the road end (4300'). A sign exists at the FR36 junction with FR39 (Glacier Creek Road) but the other road junctions are not marked. Some routefinding is required. I started up the unmarked trail at 10:55. The trail follows an abandoned extention of FR3600 about a quarter of a mile to its end, then crosses a 100 yards of the old clearcut to reach the forest. A climber's route, rather than a constructed trail, it goes up and down and left and right to avoid thickets of huckleberry brush in the clearcut. In the forest, the grade is more uniform. Upon reaching the end of the valley, it ascends moderately steeply and continuously to about 5000' where it descends into a shallow creek canyon and disappears. It is flagged in the forest but would be straightforward to follow in the absence of flags. At trail end, it seems better to keep to the left where the slope is more moderate than to ascend directly to the ice-filled notch in Grouse Ridge just west of pt. 5892'.

From the notch, it is a pleasant stroll down meadows to the saddle between Warm and Grouse Creeks. From there it is a matter of taste whether to reach the base of the Grouse Glacier via the spur ridge or to drop 50' east to the first stream and follow it past wildflowers. At the glacier base, it is straightforward to traverse west, across a small stream flowing down low angle slabs, to a second spur ridge, right of the glacier, and thereby reach Marmot Ridge at 6200'.

To reach Thunder Basin (west of Thunder Glacier) traverse south on medium talus and ascend to 6350' to reach the ridge just north of Thunder Basin. Descend southwest about 50' to the top of a talus slope, free of subalpine fir brush, to descend to the west end of the basin. Alternatively, ascend about 50' for a somewhat more pleasant descent on grass and talus to the middle of the basin at 6040'.

My highest point was 6500'. From there, it appears to be a pleasant walk along the north margin of Marmot Ridge to point 7160'+ at the intersection of Marmot and Heliotrope Ridges. I couldn't see the route beyond pt. 7160'+, but travel along the ridge to pt. 7242' should be possible. Beyond that point, gendarmes would make travel on the Coleman Glacier preferable but would require a larger party with glacier travel gear and expertise.

This area can only be sampled on a day trip. A camp in Thunder Basin would provide access to Colfax, Lincoln and Seward Peaks and an opportunity to see the Twin Sisters Range to the south in the morning light. Water is available from Wallace Creek.

View west of the north slope of Grouse Ridge. (5170', 12:02)

View east of the south slope of Grouse Ridge (foreground), Mount Baker (cloud shrouded, left), Colfax Peak (left center), Lincoln Peak (right center) and Marmot Ridge (middle distance). (5650', 12:37)

Northern blue, Lycaeides idas; L. melissa is unlikely this far west. I didn't see any females and I wasn't able to photograph the wings open. (5520', 12:46)

View south across meadow to Marmot Ridge. (5540', 12:55)

View east of meadow covered moraines below Grouse Glacier to Heliotrope Ridge. (5540', 13:00)

View east of Grouse Glacier (foreground), Heliotrope Ridge (immediately beyond the glacier), Hadley Peak (7515', left skyline) and Bastile Peak(7842', left center). (6180', 13:28)

View east of tarn in Thunder Basin to Thunder Glacier. (6000', 14:50)

View northeast of a bluff (center) in Thunder Basin and the terminus of Thunder Glacier (right). The subalpine fir and other plants on the bluff contrast with the surrounding tundra. Although it looks like a kipuka, it is more likely to have been a small nunatak. For most of the past 20000 years, the basin floor has been protected from the ravages of weather and plants by glacier or snowfield ice, with only the bluff exposed above its surface. (6020', 14:55)

View east of the hanging glacier on the west face of Lincoln Peak. A hanging glacier is one that terminates at or near the top of a cliff. (6020', 14:56)

Weathered rock in Thunder Basin. (6040', 14:58)

Mosaic panorama east from the south slope of Marmot Ridge of Mount Baker (10781', left in cloud), Colfax Peak (9355', left of center behind pt. 8704' at the head of Thunder Glacier), Lincoln Peak (9080'+, center) and Seward Peak (8000'+, right at head of upper glacier). Thunder Basin is at the base of Thunder Glacier and Lincoln Peak. The descent to Thunder Basin from this location is free of brush. (6450', 15:43)

View north of Grouse Glacier (foreground), Grouse Creek, and Glacier Creek (visible in forest right of center) with the North Fork of the Nooksack River Valley in the distance in front of Church Mountain (right). Meadow covered Grouse Ridge extends from the center left to the edge of the image and beyond in the middle distance. Logging roads and old clearcuts are visible on the forested slopes of pt. 5365 and Lookout Mountain (5016') behind (both left of center).

This image inverts the usual view of a mountain, i.e., a glacier or snow covered peak, foothills in the middle distance and river valley in the foreground. Also, it is the story of a river, from its inception in glacier ice, to its combination with other similar streams and ultimate destination in Puget Sound/Strait of Georgia (upper left). (6470', 16:05)

Weathered boulder near north margin of Marmot Ridge. (6300', 16:18)

Harsh, small-flowered or cliff paintbrush, Castilleja hispida, C. parviflora or C. rupicola, near Grouse Creek. (5810', 16:46)

Fireweed, Epilobium angustifolium, near Grouse Creek. (5810', 16:47)

Unidentified flower near Grouse Creek. The flower is too small to be a mountain or primrose monkey-flower, Mimulus tilingii, or M. primuloides. (5810', 16:57)

Mountain sorrel, Oxyria digyna, near Grouse Creek. (5810', 17:09)

Panorama east from the south slope of Grouse Ridge (foreground, left to center), Mount Baker (cloud shrouded, right center), Colfax Peak, Lincoln Peak (right) and Marmot Ridge (in front of Colfax and Lincoln Peaks). (5630', 17:36)

This graph summarizes my trip. The horizontal axis is 24 hour Pacific Daylight Time. These data were logged by an altimeter watch. My fastest hours were 1256' at 12:00 and -1277' at 18:15.

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