Table Mountain from Artist Point 9/8/06 ------------------------------------------ First you drive to the very end of the Mt. Baker hiway at Artists Point. The views of rugged alpine scenery from this 5000 ft. parking lot are as good or better than 80% of northwest trails offer at their scenic high points. But a short steep hike will lead you to even grander views. I had been up Table Mtn before on a misty cloudy day when I was running out of daylight. This time I had more hours and mostly sunshine. It was just as good as advertised ! The obvious scenic stars are Mt. Baker to the West, and Mt. Shuksan to the east, the two tallest peaks of the north cascades. The top of Table Mtn is a plateau so it's easy to wander around in all directions once you get to the top. It's an area of rock and snow with just a bit of vegetation on the south and west edges. Very small trees flowers and tasty blueberries (Sept. is the berry time here). The trail avoids the snow but it's fun to kick a little snow in Sept. On the west end of the plateau is a superb view point looking at Baker and the lower ridges, snowfields, and glaciers that surround it. From this end I could also see some of the Chain Lakes, some ponds on a section of Table Mtn slightly below, and the big northern snowfield on Table Mtn, also below. After returning to my car I ate dinner and then went out on the little Fire and Ice trail for the sunset views. This path goes east from the parking lot about 1/2 mile to Huntoon Point. Mt. Shuksan changed colors and was reflected in several little ponds as the sun went down. Very scenic indeed. Statistics: 4 miles total, 600 ft. gain high point 5700 ft. visibility 20 miles max temp. on Table Mtn 70 deg. berries to eat millions 155 miles from my north Seattle home. Robert Michelson