Baker Lake and Environs

June 24th

It was another nice day, although a little cloudy, but July 5th hadn't arrived yet, so that's acceptable :-) Time to see if Boulder Creek was flowing vigorously, although it may be a little late, since the Frazier River flood peaked in Vancouver a few days earlier.

Baker Lake Picnic Area

Mt. Baker, obscured by clouds, with overflow area at Baker Lake

Looking towards Mt. Baker, which is obscured by the clouds. The wall on the right holds back the water of Baker Lake. On previous visits, the area in the centre was pretty much dry. There is a pumping station to move this water into Baker Lake itself. There's also an overflow, seen in a later image.

I think this area is used to catch water that would not otherwise flow into the dam due to the level. By storing, and pumping it into the dam during off-peak times, it effectively forms an energy storage function.

Mt. Shuksan, obsucred by clouds, viewed over a full Baker Lake

The top of Mt. Shuksan disappears in the clouds too. Note that Baker Lake is now full.

Mt. Shuksan, obsucred by clouds, viewed over a full Baker Lake

A closer view of Mt. Shuksan and the full Baker Lake, being enjoyed by some boaters.

Baker Lake Dam

Baker Lake at the dam wall; full now, and plenty of debris

Flotsam behind the dam wall at Baker Lake.

Not sure where the overflow is coming from, but it seems to be stream flow below dam level; spillway in bottom of image

I think this is overflow water from the storage area mentioned above in the description of the top photo. Since the lake is full, there's no sense pumping extra water into it, so it is allowed to bypass the dam, thus creating this waterfall. The dam power station is just to the right of this picture, and water coming from it is causing the turbulence.

The cement structure in the lower left is the dam spillway. The wetness may be caused by recently spilling water, or just seepage at the control gate.

Boulder Creek

Boulder Creek, not flowing much, looking towards Mt. Baker (trust me!)

Boulder Creek is still just a trickle. But seeing how much snow is still on Mt. Baker (top of picture) it's not clear to me whether the rush (assuming there is one) has happened yet. My guess is that it has.