Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Craig Romano/The Mountaineers Books Table Mountain
Featured In:
Day Hiking: North Cascades,
by Craig Romano.
A portion of all book sales from the links above benefits WTA and helps protect and maintain our trails. Starting at nearly a mile high, follow the Chain Lakes Trail a scant 0.25 mile to the Table Mountain Trail that diverges right. Heading straight up the near-vertical east wall of the nearest thing to a mesa in the North Cascades, the trail climbs rock steps and snakes up ledges on a steep and somewhat exposed route. Children should be kept close by. After 500 feet of either exhilarating or nerve-wracking ascent, emerge on the wind-blasted exposed-to-the-elements Table top. The trail continues along the plateau, passing clumps of tenacious trees and small pools perfect for catching reflections of surrounding mountains. And speaking of those peaks, 10,778-foot Baker and 9127-foot Shuksan dominate the show. But give the others their due. The Canadian Border Peak, Ruth, Goat, the High Divide, Blum, Glacier, the Pickets, the list goes on. Enjoy, too, the Bagley Lakes twinkling directly below, but don't venture too close to the edge. The trail ends at 1.5 miles on the west end of the Table top, a perfect spot for admiring the patterns of glacier and snow etched into Ptarmigan Ridge. Once this trail made a loop, but it involved traversing a treacherous snowfield that claimed more than a couple of hikers. Return the way you came, spellbound by Shuksan's looming presence.
Driving Directions:
From Bellingham follow the Mount Baker Highway (State Route 542) east for 34 miles to the Glacier Public Service Center. Drive another 25 miles to the road end at the mega parking lot for Artist Point (elev. 5140 ft). Privy available. Recent Trip Reports
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Overnight
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The weather report wouldn’t sustain a 5-day larch trip I had hoped to make on the east side; in fact...
The weather report wouldn’t sustain a 5-day larch trip I had hoped to make on the east side; in fact the window of sunshine kept narrowing with every forecast, so I decided to stay local with Table Mountain. I’ve never done an overnight here due to the fact that it is typically mad with tourist-type pilgrims, but the road closure had me hoping for more serenity. It is a beautiful vantage, smack in the middle of two celebrity mountains. It was also nice to get out on the Autumnal Equinox.
After a lazy pack Friday morning I managed to be at road’s end by 11:30a under gray drizzling skies. So, to give the weather gods some time to shape things up I wandered over to the Austin Pass warming lodge where there was a cozy fire going in the historic interior. Still feeling uninspired by the misty murk blotting the mountains, I took a nap in the truck for a bit. Things looked better by 1p so Bodhran and I hit the trail. The whole mountaintop is riddled with austere tarns, many of which are still snow-covered. It had a very arctic feel on our ramble south; I was banking on some cozier snow-free tarns on the south end. Fortunately this gamble paid off. Clouds started dissolving away around sunset and I was treated to great views of Kulshan and Shuksan. The 300’ scarp surrounding much of the south end is a bit unnerving because it ends with heather, the edge being softly indistinct; I did not want to be a gravity test-dummy (with an emphasis on dummy). My time there was brief so I spent much time rambling for photos over rock & snow; melting tarns showed cerulean hues against lingering winter. It was quite windy up there but the temperatures were kindly. I peeped all I could at the great star show until a waning crescent signaled impending dawn. It has been an odd year in western WA; considerable snow will carry over into the new year, and blueberries are few, with ripe ones being even fewer. I think the bears are going to come out of hibernation in a fightin’ mood. Kulshan’s glow urged me into the new day for more pictures. I had plans to explore an old trail (early 1900s) that used come up Wells Creek by way of Mazama Falls before the road to Heather Meadows was completed. Under sunny skies Bodhran & I trundled down a well-established but unmaintained trail off the south end of Table Mtn. It was brushy and had decades of blowdown. It shows little evidence of regular use, but I liked it well enough. After unsuccessfully finding any trace of the old Mazama trail I consoled myself with some light exploration of the lakes in the area. By noon clouds had blotted the sun and the mosquito count had increased; this was enough to encourage me to abandon plans to stay another night. It was good to spend some time on the west side, but I’ll be going back to prowling the NWS for a window big enough to fit a fat larch trip in. Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage
Issues:
Mudholes
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It was a perfect day for a Fall hike, and my buddies and I took full advantage of it. ...
It was a perfect day for a Fall hike, and my buddies and I took full advantage of it. Table Mountain, Mount Baker, and Shuksan stood out sharply against a beautiful sky. The views from the summit of Table Mountain are wonderful. We enjoyed everything from the artistic cairns to the great vistas. The only disappointment was the hikers who brought their dogs. Not wanting the magic to end, we decided to stroll up the Artist Point trail and were extremely pleased with the scenery there as well. It's hard to beat the top parking lot at Mount Baker for a starting place for so many fantastic hikes. Last week it was Ptarmigan Ridge. Next time it will be Chain Lakes Loop. Remember, there are no bugs this time of year.
Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage
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Ralph had been waiting over 30 years for this moment, so he said. Photographing Mount Shuksan above Picture lake...
Ralph had been waiting over 30 years for this moment, so he said. Photographing Mount Shuksan above Picture lake was something he delayed until today. So we packed our camera gear and set out to capture a dream.
The weather was not as sunny in the morning as we had hoped so we did an alternate hike to the summit of Table mountain nearby, while waiting for the sun. We had parked near Picture lake so we hiked the road until reaching a trail going to Artist Point. We continued on the well maintained trail and took the upper junction to trail #681. It is rocky and exposed in places but traverses nicely to the flat, mesa on top. As we headed back down to Picture lake the couds began to clear. We were greeted at the lake shore by a very friendly Canada goose who followed us around and ate blueberries along the way. It appears the shore-line trail was designed with photographers in mind and several others were captureing the mountain and fall colors. Ralph and I spent some time locating the perfect spot where the mountain the Fall colors and the lake all come together. We took our photos and departed as the sun sank lower and behind the clouds. Just before departing the goose gave us a show on the water and we realized she (female, judging by its size) couldn't fly, after seeing an aborted take-off. So we hope she is able to eventually fly away but meanwhile if you get to the lake before Winter sets in you might be greeted by a lone goose trying to survive on blueberries. http://www.flickr.com/[…]/
Chain Lakes, Ptarmigan Ridge, Table Mountain
— Sep 08, 2010
— Washington Trails Association
Day hike
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The Forest Service is closing Table Mountain and Chain Lakes/Ptarmigan Ridge trails Sept. 13-14 for maintenance. Work on the upper...
The Forest Service is closing Table Mountain and Chain Lakes/Ptarmigan Ridge trails Sept. 13-14 for maintenance. Work on the upper Table Mountain trail’s southern steep cliffs will dislodge boulders and rocks, endangering hikers on the lower switchbacks and on the Chain Lakes/Ptarmigan Ridge trails. The trailhead is located at Artist Point parking lot at the end of Mt. Baker Highway, Scenic Route 542.
Call Mt. Baker Ranger District for updated information on trails or roads at 360-856-5700 or go to alerts and conditions on http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/.
Table Mountain
— Jul 19, 2010
— austineats
Day hike
Issues:
Snow on trail
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The rioad to Artist's Point was not open yet. I say "was" because there were several pieces of heavy equipment...
The rioad to Artist's Point was not open yet. I say "was" because there were several pieces of heavy equipment working hard at clearing the road. We parked at the last lot open and followed the trail along towards AP. At times it was in snow and others it was dry. Not vey hard to follow aws many have gone before. Most families chose to take the dry, plowed road. Snow conditions are perfect. Slushy corn that is just right for spring skiing or glisading down on my boots.
Table Mountain itself is obvious form the road or parking area. We approached to it's left. The trail is blasted out of the shear sides of the peak. Somebody had fun with dynomite creating this trail. It steeply switchbacks up an otherwise improbable cliff. The trail at this point is free of snow. Once gaining the top there is considerable snow on it's flat wide expanses. we chose to forgoe the trudge over to the "true" summit in favor of sitting in the sun and soaking up the majestic views. |
View from the Summit of Table Mountain, photo taken by Norm.
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