Sunday, November 6, 2016

Looking At Mount Baker Thinking About Skiing Down Mount Wichita

A few days ago I blogged about the Stunning Resemblance Between Mount Rainier & Mount Wichita.

One needs to have the ability to really stretch ones imagination to see the stunning resemblance between Mount Rainier and Mount Wichita.

This winter if Wichita Falls has some snow falling Mount Wichita will not require as much imagination to look like perpetually white Mount Rainier.

What you are looking at in the above photo is another of Washington's five active volcanoes.

Mount Baker.

I saw this photo on Facebook yesterday via Skagit Breaking News.

Seeing this photo sort of made me homesick for my old home zone. On a clear day I was able to look out the window of my Mount Vernon kitchen and see Mount Baker. Not quite the zoomed view you see in the photo, but impressive nonetheless.

If I remember right the last time I hiked up Mount Baker was with Spencer Jack's Favorite Uncle Joey.

To say I hiked up Mount Baker, which sounds like I hiked to the summit, would be more accurately stated that I hiked up Mount Baker as far as is feasible, to the point where going further gets a bit tricky.

And dangerous.

 If, or when, Mount Wichita gets a snow cover I wonder if anyone will attempt to hike to the summit carrying skis to attempt a short run of downhill skiing?

Last summer I was on the summit of Mount Wichita where a guy regaled me with a tale of watching a foolish person push his mountain bike to the summit. Many were watching when the mountain biker attempted a fast descent. The attempt lasted about 20 feet before the biker lost control, was tossed over his handlebars and proceeded to tumble down the mountain, along with his sliding bike.

I recollect asking if the guy was hurt by this embarrassing debacle. The reply was that when his tumble came to a halt the guy stood up and gave the assembled watchers an I am okay thumbs up type signal.

I suspect a skiing attempt down the steep snow-covered slopes of Mount Wichita would meet a similar fate to the mountain bike attempt...

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