Hike of the Week: Boundary Way

Massive Mount McGuire from Cowap Peak

Boundary Way

Borderline beauty from Baker to BC!




by Craig Romano
photo by Craig Romano
produced by Michael Fagin

October 6, 2006

Quick Facts
Location: North Cascades (Mount Baker Highway region)
Land Agency: (US Forest Service) Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
Roundtrip: 5.0 miles
Elevation gain: 1,400 feet
Access: From Bellingham follow SR 542 (Mount Baker Highway) to Glacier Visitors Center. Two miles farther east turn left onto FR 31 and follow 15 miles to trailhead.
Green Trails Map: Mount Baker, WA- No. 13
Notes: NW Forest Pass required. Hunting season has begun, wear orange.

Don’t be surprised I you’re greeted by a packed parking lot after negotiating the long access road to the trailhead. But, don’t despair. I guarantee at least 90% of the owners of those dusty Subaru’s, SUV’s and pickups have ventured down the Damfino Lakes Trail to the High Divide. And who can blame them? The High Divide from Excelsior Pass to Welcome Pass is one of the finest alpine meadow marches in the North Cascades. But, on a sunny autumn day, it seems like half of Bellingham and Vancouver is here, making this lofty emerald ridge a tad bit crowded.
Solution? Saunter up the Damfino Lakes Trail .7 mile to a well marked junction and bang a quick left. Immediately leave crowds and well-trodden trail behind. Now continue .4 mile up the semi-deserted Canyon Creek Trail to another signed junction. Hang a quick right here onto the Boundary Way leaving any signs of trail crowding far behind. Now on one of the Mount Baker area’s least known trails mosey northward towards the 49th parallel to a land of scenic surprises. Traverse a marshy notch and an ancient grove of hemlocks before emerging in open country below rock-capped Cowap Peak.
Through inviting meadows across the base of the peak the Boundary Way marches onward toward the Canadian Border. After one mile of climbing the trail crests a high ridge. Wow! Right in front of you just across the international frontier is the craggy monolith, Mount McGuire staring you in the face. A whole slew of other impressive BC peaks make their presence known as well. To the west, Canadian Border Peak and Slesse Peak tower over the Tomyhoi and Chilliwack Valleys. To the north the jagged Cheam Range pierces the sky.
The Boundary Way heads right for another 1.5 or so dropping a few hundred feet to the edge of a high ridge less than one mile from the border. Head that way if you like venturing on a trail few boots have pounded. But the better choice is to head left on an unnamed but well-defined path that climbs the heather and blueberry slopes of 5,658-foot Cowap Peak. From this open summit gain a better perspective of the peaks that flank the 49th parallel.
A knife-edge must be crossed to reach the mountain’s true summit. Save yourself a scary ordeal, for the views are just as spectacular from right below the high point. Aside from taking in a sea of British Columbia peaks, cast your eyes southward for fantastic views of Mount Baker, Mount Shuksan, Tomyhoi Peak, American Border Peak, Goat Mountain, and Bearpaw Mountain.
The views from this trail easily rival those from the High Divide. Except on the Boundary Way, you don’t have to share them.