Mount Baker was all but invisible from the ramp at the south end of Baker Lake, just 10 miles from the summit, the third highest in Washington. A pale gray overcast had wrapped around the volcano's 10,781′-high summit and the diffuse afternoon light had blended the snow fields and glaciers with the clouds. Only a few jagged obsidian-black lines—bare rock faces angled toward the peak—betrayed the presence of the mountain.It was midafternoon on a Wednesday in May, more than a week before the start of the summer camping and fishing season, and my 17′ garvey cruiser, HESPERIA, was the only boat at the ramp. The level of the lake, a reservoir created by a dam hidden around a forested point of land to the south, was down by at least 10′, and only the last 20′ of the dock was afloat. The rest of the molded plastic sections lay on the ramp like discarded mattresses. The cove at Anderson Creek was one of the only places on the eastern shore that looked like a suitable anchorage.
Photographs by the author
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You need to sell the plans for that boat. I’ve said that before, and Im saying it again. Also, you’ve added many improvements since the last time you showed it here
Do you have more pictures of the boat? She looked perfect for what you were doing.
You’ll find more photos of HESPERIA in the other articles in Small Boats Magazine that feature her. At the end of the first article in the list below, there are some notes about the boat added to the end.
A San Juan Island Solo
Dammed
Getting out of Line
Dude, I like reading your words all the time, but this?
This was Really well written.
The lower peak to the left of the main one forms part of the rim of Sherman Crater, which still vents gases through several fumaroles. In 1975, there was an increase in venting that alarmed the authorities, who shut down campsites and trails on Baker Lake, and urged evacuation of residents downstream. They also lowered the lake level to mitigate any tsunami that might form from a sudden pyroclastic flow or a big lahar.
Over the years I have on several occasions seen a steam plume from west of Bellingham.
The excitement around the volcano extended also to communities on the other side of the mountain. A reporter from the Bellingham Herald interviewed a 19-year-old girl in the little town of Glacier, asking her if she feared the mountain might erupt.
She said that she had lived there her whole life, and it had never erupted, so she didn’t think it would now.
So much for taking the long view.
David,
I have heard that depending on which side of the mountain were to blow out, it will either come down the Skagit and end up in Mt. Vernon, or, plan B, come down the Nooksack and end up in Bellingham. Hoping it just stays put.
I was fishing in Shannon Lake, just below Baker Lake when Mt. Saint Helens blew, and we heard the explosion. Powerful stuff!
[Shannon Lake is 165 miles from Mt. Saint Helens. Ed.]
My ex and I were still in bed that May morning, and were surprised to hear blasting seeming to come from the Chuckanut mountains. Only later did we learn that we had heard St. Helens go boom.
My brother lives in Mukelteo (my Spelling) and my Dad went out from the East Coast to stay with him for a summer. He would take the ferry over to Whidbey Island and ride the bus around. When he came back east he would tell his son, The Admiral of the North Chesapeake, how great it was, and we planed to rent a Nordic Tug the next year. Unfortunately, the wheels came off his wagon and he ended up in a nursing home and we never got to make the trip. Thank you for bringing up some fond memories so near to this Father’s Day. As Robert Service said While the Bannock Bakes!
Why has there never been a full review of the HESPERIA? This ugly duckling certainly serves many purposes. And secondly, if she were to be destroyed, would you rebuild and, if so, what changes would you make?
Anyway, great articles and keep them coming. Always the best part of the issue.
John Labrum
Lynden, WA
HESPERIA hasn’t been reviewed because it’s one of a kind and the design is not available as finished boats, kits, or plans. The most complete description of it is in my article “A San Juan Island Solo.”
The only thing that comes to mind for a a change or an improvement, it would be creating a mechanism for raising and lowering the cabin top. I had given it some thought when I was building the boat, and came up with a system, but when I found I could move the top with my feet, I decided that was good enough. The top can get crooked and hung up, especially coming down, and the system I came up with would keep the top level while moving up and down.
The cabin roof is the same as on the old Alaskan Camper. There was a hydraulic pump inside the door, manual or electric, with four lines going out to each corner to a piston. As the weight was equal at each corner, the roof raised evenly. Spars and masts would complicate things. But the Camper was an easy up and down even for this old man (now 89!).
Alternatives would be to reuse the raising scissor jack mechanism from a hard top tent trailer.
John Labrum
Hey, an idea for an article. Instead of a travelog, give us a detailed 24-hour account of a life aboard a small cruiser. Give us the facts, good and bad, about your feelings. This, or maybe two experiences, one in beautiful conditions and one in horrible ones.
Thanks for what you do.
John Labrum
Very nice! And I too would like plans or at least measured drawings. You know, in your spare time. 🙂
This demonstrates once again that we needn’t seek out far-flung locales to find great cruising. There is something especially magical about seeing the early morning or late evening sun on steep mountain peaks. To be able to experience it from your boat is wonderful.
I enjoyed the account of your Baker Lake adventure. It was waiting in my inbox when my wife and I returned from a day of hiking at the very same place. We were surprised to find that the trail and camps on the east shore were closed because of recent cougar activity. So we hiked up the Sulphide Creek trail instead, eating our lunch on the suspension bridge over the Baker River. That east side hike is about 14 miles long with many bridge crossings over the steams that at times rage down into the lake. It is one of our favorite mushroom trips and only rarely do we have to share the trail. But, we tend to avoid the more crowded times. Some years ago we were camped at Anderson Creek when we heard a scream from what we believe to be a cat. We did not make a midnight bathroom run that night. That was in early October and might have been as nice a piece of weather in my memory. We paddled our kayaks over to Anderson and let the next day’s wind push us up to Noisy Creek. We crossed to Shannon Creek the next morning and hitched a ride back to pick up our rig at Kulshan. A nice memory.
Your timing in May was a good plan. When we were there on Tuesday, there were a few stragglers from the long weekend but quite a few jet skis. Not a sight we remember from previous years.
I don’t think you generate more comments about what you choose to write about than when you push your shanty boat off the trailer for another adventure. Another one well done.
Dallen
Thanks for the well-written story that brings you right into the moment and makes you feel like you are there, enjoying the beautiful and changing scenic vistas as the HESPERIA glides across the tranquil waters of Baker Lake. The photos of the reflection of Mt. Baker in Baker Lake are striking and wonderfully framed. Keep up the great exploratory cruising.
Every word, sir, an unmitigated joy. Thank you
A nicely done story of a likely well-deserved idyll in paradise away from the office.
As for running aground on a stump, I had a similar story while rowing a small skiff on Buttle Lake, Vancouver Island. It is also a reservoir and carpeted in remnants of large old trees. I was gliding between rowing strokes when I felt the boat glide up on something. Looking over the side I could only see 3-4′ deep water all around. It became apparent that I was stopped on top of a large flat stump. Getting off again was not easy if I wanted to stay dry (it was also early spring). I finally realized that if I crawled up into the bow, it would sink a bit deeper at that end and float the boat off. A minute or two later I was again on my way.
BTW: If you run out of lakes in Washington, there are a few large ones on Vancouver Island (post-travel restrictions) like Buttle, Great Central, Kennedy, and Nimpkish and sheltered waters in Barkley Sound (Port Alberni, BC) and Clayouquot Sound (Tofino, BC).
Christopher,
I was staying at Cedar Grove Campground. I took amazing photos and this video of your boat with Baker behind you. I even have the two geese you mentioned flying from your boat and land in front of Baker.