Mt Herman

Overview

Mt Herman is dwarfed by nearby Mt Baker, Mt Shuksan, Larrabee, American Border Peak, Tomyhoi, Ruth, Icy and others easily seen from  the summit. Famous only to the backcountry skiers/boarders that put in some time to push through the snows of the North Cascades for untracked powder. A relatively easy scramble seldom done, it is rewarding for its location of views with relatively modest investment. My Gia app says I gained 2,461 feet in 6 miles.  Hey, not bad for 68...

Getting There

Head East from Bellingham on Mt Baker Highway 542 for about 55 miles.  You are basically driving to the ski/boarding area.  Find the Heather Meadow Visitor Center parking lot.

Route

I started at the  Heather Meadows Visitor Center parking lot at 4400 feet. Hike down to Bagley Lake trail/Chain Lakes trail for about 3.5 miles toward Herman Saddle. After the last switchback, spot the low spot on the ridge above trail and scramble up the Heather slopes and through the scrub trees for a couple hundred feet.  From here you can see a beautiful unnamed Lake below and the scree and Heather slopes that lead to Mt Herman.  The Summit is also visible from here.  It just picking your way over to the main gully that on a topo goes straight up from the lake, into  a small cirque.  From my pictures in the trip report I show the route up to another low point on the Summit Ridge, scrambling and veggie grabbing near the top.  Its a short Easterly ridge that takes you to the spacious summit where the surveyor marker is imbedded in t he  rock, dated 1939.  I always admire the true hard core men that put those in so many summits, so long ago.

Red Tape

Morthwest Parking permit, available at the town of Glacier at the kiosk at Ranger Station.

When to Climb

I would say for reasonable humans, Spring, Summer and Fall.

Camping

Campgrounds all over the Mt Baker Highway.

External Links

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