On an awesome sunny weekend, I brought my puppy, Parker, to go up Yellow Aster Butte with a few friends. It
was his "virgin" hike. Yellow Aster Butte is known for its broad view of Mt Baker from far. We were to seek such
a view today.
The trail starts at tree line, as I remembered in such a hot day, the shade was much appreciated. Quickly as we
went up the valley, we passed open slopes above tree line, offering unlimited blue sky view. Patches of snow rewarded us
with cool breezes at times.
The final climb to the highest point was steep, though after all, there were lots of hikers in front of us. I loved
the scene of a trail of humans, hungry of tackling this teep hill. Photo opportunities seeked our focus and yet the
biggest reward is to enjoy the hike in such a beautiful day.
We continued to scramble across to get to the true highest point of the Butte. At times, I was more worried about Parker than
anyone of us. But what should a 4-wheel-drive worry about ? We rested on the very top for 20 minutes, and we were visited by
some lady friends - the lady bugs. Who would guess the lady bugs visting us at 7000 ft ?
As we prepared to go back, we chose to loop around a few alpine lakes on the flat below the butte. At a steep slope, Steve and
Amanda glissaded down the snow patches. Parker, being a collie, didn't like their sliding acts, chasing them down the slope with
a fiery bark. I couldn't explain but held a laugh.
But Parker enjoyed his first day on snow, being silly he often dug himself into the snow and found nothing in return.
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