Mount Baring, WA - 6,125 ft - May 15, 2010

We attempted to climb Mount Baring near Index on Route 2 on a sunny 70 degree spring day in Washington. This was my first climb of the year in WA. The hike was quite steep and reminded me of our attempt on Snowking last September. The trail was supposed to start on a logging road around 2,200 ft, but the road was gated, so we started at the river (1,000ft).

We tried to summit from the south, which is apparently a less popular route given that there literally was no trail. We found some orange markers in the woods after hiking through a clear cut, but they sent us towards another peak called Grotto. Realizing that we were headed East and needed to head West/North, we decided to blaze our own trail up the mountain. We got cliffed out at about 4-4,500 ft after kicking steps up a few chutes, so we stopped for lunch then headed back down. We put in about 3,500 feet of gain over 4 hours, and back down in 2 hours. A good day even though we didn't summit.

Looking South across the valley from approx. 3,500 ft. with the Skykomish River below.

View of the clear cut from the logging road at 2,200 ft. The summit is hidden behind the peaks in view.