Ptarmigan Ridge
Last modified
Nov 06, 2009 04:30 PM
Travel along a rugged knolled snowy and rocky spine above glaciers and barren slopes to almost within embracing distance of majestic Baker. Across alpine tundra, and snowfields that never retreat in summer's heat, feel the pulse of the frozen volcano on this hike. But be forewarned: this trail is more of a climbers path, rough and sketchy in spots, buried beneath snow in others. Take ice ax and map and turn around when the going gets spooky. If you're prepared and conditions are good, however, your journey across Ptarmigan Ridge will be one of the most stimulating and exhilarating in your life. Recent Trip Reports
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Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming | Fall foliage | Ripe berries
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Hit the trail about 1:30 the afternoon. Visibility was nearly perfect, temperature was warm but not hot and the light...
Hit the trail about 1:30 the afternoon. Visibility was nearly perfect, temperature was warm but not hot and the light breeze was refreshing. The views were just as good as I had hoped and I could see all sorts of interesting ridges and peaks in addition to Shuksan and Baker.
Though the parking lot at artist point was packed, there the trail was not too crowded. Locating and staying on the trail was fairly easy except for a few of the more barren patches where it was hard to distinguish in the rocks/gravel without looking for trail markers. Only one snow field was left and it was very easy to cross. Towards the end as I neared the glacier, mountain goats were visible on the slopes below Baker.
Ptarmigan Ridge
— Sep 02, 2009
— el tigre
Day hike
Features:
Fall foliage | Ripe berries
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Beautiful weather and tons of hikers. An easy trail in these conditions, though I understand it can be more treacherous...
Beautiful weather and tons of hikers. An easy trail in these conditions, though I understand it can be more treacherous earlier in the season. After 1.2 miles of gentle ascent to the turnoff for Chain Lakes, drop a few hundred feet and just as quickly make the only real climb of the trip, a few hundred feet to the ridge itself, at about 2-2.5 miles. From there it's up and down, mostly gentle, along the ridge's south/east slopes. We went round the Coleman Pinnacle but not quite all the way to Camp Kiser, say about 4-4.5 miles. Only 1 snowfield to cross, and it is almost entirely flat and no threat whatsoever. As we sat eating our lunch and staring at the bulk of Mt. Baker, lenticular clouds evolved into a more threatening cloudcover and we packed up and headed home. It was raining within about 12 hours but the weather held just fine for the afternoon. I can see how this hike could be challenging in fog, rain, snow, or high winds, as the ridge trail is exposed in some areas and landmarks can be hard to spot. On this day we enjoyed the views and trail comraderie. Lots of berries this time of year, no bugs whatsoever. Very sunny for most of the hike. Wonderful views of Shuksan, Baker (you're sort of hiking between the two of them), as well as numerous other Cascades peaks.
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming | Fall foliage | Ripe berries
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WOW! What a way to end the Hike-a-Thon, literally in its final hours. We started this hike at around 6pm,...
WOW! What a way to end the Hike-a-Thon, literally in its final hours. We started this hike at around 6pm, the colors were amazing.
This hike starts up at Artist Point, right near the base of Table Mountain. It follows a rocky, mostly open ridge between Shuksan and Mt. Baker. The sun was going down and hitting the mountains with reddish hues. The sky was blue but you could see some clouds off to the east. The goal for my hiking partner was to reach Coleman Pinnacle before dark, and he made it up to the pinnacle whilst I waited a little below since I'm not the world's most experienced route finder. By this time it was almost dark and the moon was coming up and glowing over the mountains and thankfully lighting our trail on the way out. Off in the distance the clouds came in over Shuksan with a spectacular lightning storm adding more light off and on as we came back down to Artist Point. There were a few spots with ripe blueberries and some really vibrant green areas with moss on the rocks where there was still some water flowing over the trail from snow melt. All things considered it was an excellent way to end the HIKE-A-THON, and we finished just before the witching hour! Happy Hiking :0)
Ptarmigan Ridge
— Aug 01, 2009
— tenderfeet
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Snow on trail | Bugs
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The Ptarmigan Ridge trail is clear of impassable snow ass far as any normal hikers could conceivabley wish to go....
The Ptarmigan Ridge trail is clear of impassable snow ass far as any normal hikers could conceivabley wish to go. The view from the parking area at Artist Point rivals the climax of many alpine hikes, and the easy rolling trail and jaw dropping scenery place this hike as one of the finest in Washington. Amazingly, there were not a huge amount of people on the trail on a perfect summer day.
Day hike
Issues:
Bugs
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Trickiest patch of snow on this loop trip was the first pitch of downhill snow out of the parking lot...
Trickiest patch of snow on this loop trip was the first pitch of downhill snow out of the parking lot at Artist Point. Along the Ptarmigan Ridge Trail several under prepared hikers turned around after coming to the edge of the first snowfield encountered shortly beyond the trail junction. After that one patch, all other snowfields to end of the trail were easily managed. Nasty mosquitoes at end of day and start of new day. Bugs not nearly so bad in Chain Lakes Basin. Water was surprisingly warm for swimming on glorious weather weekend. Can there be a more magnificent views for relatively little hiking effort. It was almost like we didn't deserve such fine scenery without much sweat. Snow was still evident at top of saddle above Heather Meadows and at trail junction heading from Ptarmigan Ridge junction to Chain Lakes. |
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. |
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