North Cascades Hiking Elopement

Sep 13

Malinda and Greg were so excited to be able to share their love of traveling with their families for their elopement. From Michigan, it was Washington’s grand mountains that drew them to the Pacific Northwest. After debating mountaintop ceremony locations all over Washington, they loved the dramatic peaks of the Mt. Baker Wilderness the most.

The day of their elopement was overcast and cloudy — that famous moody PNW look. Thankfully, they had a clear day the day before their elopement because the view of Mt. Baker from their cabin was gorgeous.

After getting ready at the cabin, everyone caravanned up Mt. Baker Highway. Malinda and Greg chose not to see each other before their ceremony, so Greg’s first look at Malinda that day was right as she walked over a boardwalk bridge into the ceremony. Greg tried so hard to hold back tears.

Once the ceremony and family photos were wrapped up, the plan was to head up the highway to get a closer look at Mt. Shuksan, do a short hike, and take photos of just the two of them. However, the clouds had other plans. The mountains were completely socked in and it didn’t look like they would be clearing soon.

Thankfully the forecast predicted partly cloudy skies in an hour, so we headed back down to where we still had views to wait it out. There was no shortage of scenery — we saw everything from lakes and rivers to forests, meadows, and waterfalls.

Spotting the partridge and tiny partridge babies was everyone’s favorite part of the hike. Little did I know but seeing one is a sign of happiness, good luck, and new beginnings.

After a while of exploring, we noticed a small patch of blue sky. We rushed back to the parking lot and made the short drive to the top of the highway just as the clouds were covering the mountains again.

This time, the clouds were moving. Malinda, Greg, and I all thought hiking here would be worth the time if the mountain showed again. As soon as we got to the end of the hike, the mountain cleared! The lake was perfectly still, giving us the gorgeous reflection of Mt. Shuksan I always hope for.

Malinda and Greg were in awe of the size of Mt. Shuksan. We got a few more glimpses, tons of photos, and were happily heading back to the cars when the sky lit up in pink alpenglow surrounding the mountain. It was an incredible way to end the night!

Congrats again, Melinda and Greg!

Vendor team: