Peak 544

May 29, 2024

165m

Blaine, WA

This is an unnamed pimple in the vicinity of Blaine but also the nearest objective with over 100 m prominence from where I live, so despite the trashy nature this “peak” somehow matters to me. The elevation was once estimated to be 540 ft but the LiDAR conduction in 2025 had it corrected to 544 ft, hence the change of its name from “Peak 540” to “Peak 544”. The H Street Road traverses almost across the southern flank of that piece of woods, but to reach the highest point one has to dive into the bushes for a brief moment, and because of the proximity to U.S./Canada border this area is heavily patrolled. A few trip reports on peakbagger.com indicated some unpleasant encounters with the border guards as “normal people” would not understand the “needs” of us weirdos, which is honestly understandable. I think the situation has changed in the past few months, that the area has now become a private property. The activity of border patrolling might have dropped but the dimension of trespassing is then added. I’m not sure which of the devils I would prefer, but I was going to figure it out.

I happened to have about 2 hours to kill in the vicinity of White Rock and I was struggling to find something to do. I suddenly remembered that I still needed this “objective” but it was too late to plan with anybody else, so I went solo. I carry the Nexus card with me in the wallet for all time, so I was able to cross the border. Upon arriving at the supposed parking area I discovered that “private property” sign, so I parked on the side of the H Street next to a few other vehicles. I did see a few border patrolling vehicles along H Street but there was none at where I parked.

My route to the high point of “Peak 544”. GPX DL

I quickly crossed the street and then dived into their property. It did feel quite “private” so upon remotely seeing a worker I decided to abandon the road to go into the bushes. I also heard some aggressive barking but the dogs seemed to be inside the house. I was supposed to go into the bushes anyway and the bushwhacking to the true summit was surprisingly straightforward. The dog’s barking continued but I heard someone came to cool them down. While hiking out I met the owner driving in. “Who are you?” “Well, I was here to hike to the highest point in that piece of wood”. “Hiking? From Canada?” “No, just out and back from the road”. The owner seemed like a nice guy and didn’t even bother to lecture me that I was trespassing, so I quickly dashed out and drove away. To my surprise there was no border patrol at my vehicle waiting for my return.