Mount Baker

Mount Baker has worn several appellations in its 400,000 years. Long before white settlers came, Nooksack Indians called it quck-sman-ik, meaning "white mountain." The Lummi Indians near Bellingham Bay called it kulshan, meaning "broken off." Presumably, they were referring to the frequent volcanic activity. English explorer Captain George Vancouver rededicated the mountain while charting the region in 1792. He named it for Lt. Joseph Baker, a young officer in his command who spotted the peak while their sloop "Discovery" was sailing off the coast of Washington, near Dungeness Bay. The North Cascades is home to many species of wildlife, from the common chipmunk to the grizzly bear. In the summer, alpine flowers bloom along the high-altitude trails. The late snow melt means that the flowers bloom quite late in the year, usually late July or August. Fireweed and Columbine put on some of the most colorful displays. Temperatures in the Mt. Baker area range from 70s (°F) with clear skies in the summer to upper 20s with rain and snow through the winter. Annual rainfall in the lowlands is 30 to 50 inches. At higher elevations, precipitation ranges from 70 to 140 inches. In 1999, Mt. Baker set the world record for the most snowfall in a single season: 1,140 inches (2,895.6 cm)! From Bellingham, take Interstate 5 to exit 255, take Sunset Drive east until it becomes State Route 542, and follow that highway 56 miles to the ski area, about 90 minutes in good weather conditions....