Our full day mountain hike to open the mountains to practice.
- 7 mile round-trip
- 1,500' elevation gain
- Uphill the whole way, at a fairly consistent grade, level around the lakes, and steeper for the final section to the ridge. Good well-built trail, soft forest path lower down, open and rocky trail up above.
Join us for a meditation hike above the tree line near Mount Baker - our first mindful foray of the season into the high mountains.
Excelsior Divide, which we will reach via Damfino Lakes, is a beautiful subalpine ridge partially covered in early season snowfields and avalanche lilies. This will be our place of Opening the Mountains for the beginning of our ritual high-country hiking season.
This hike is inspired by traditions on Tibetan sacred mountains where the first ritual circuit of the season was performed by priests waking up the mountain deities.
The trail can be muddy at this time of the year so, depending on the advance of the season, you may want to bring gaiters for snow in the forested upper portions. But although there could be some hard snow it will also be mostly clear on the open ridge.
What to Bring: Bring lunch, rain gear, good walking shoes or boots, and at least two liters of water.
Directions: Meet at 2509 Cedarwood in Bellingham or the Nugent's Corner Market in Deming. You will specify your transportation plan during registration.
Timing: Be ready to leave Cedarwood at 8:30am or to be met by the group at 9:30am at Nugent's Corner. We hope to be back to Cedarwood at about 5:30pm but hiking times vary.
Carpooling: Please mention in a comment on your registration if you need to a ride and we will try to assist. Carpooling is an indoor "event" please consult our current Covid Policy.
Registration: While our day hikes are offered without charge, we do incur about $10 of program administration cost for each registration. There is the opportunity during registration to donate to cover these costs for your own registration or, additionally, to help another cover their registration expenses. Everyone is welcome, and no one will be refused attendance for lack of funds. As we do on the trail, we support each other.
Donations to the Leader: As with all of our events, teachers/leaders are not compensated for their time. You can include a donation to the hike leader during registration or at any time through our Donate to a Teacher page.
Questions? Contact Wilderness Dharma Program Coordinator Bob Penny at wilderness@redcedarzen.org and see our Wilderness Dharma Program page for an overview of this program.
