Spent the night at Goat Lake Saturday night. Arrived to an almost full Artist Point parking lot at 8:45 am Saturday am. A few patches of snow left on the trail but easy to cross with the help of hiking poles. We counted 35 tents at the lake and surrounding ridge line Saturday night. Most hikers and dog parents were respectable and spread out. Was a very hot day as the lake is exposed with no shade nearby. We came prepared with some supplies to create make shift shade shelters which helped. It was a gorgeous warm night with lots of stars.

On our hike out, we noticed many hikers seemed unaware of trail etiquette for allowing the uphill hiker to pass. FYI: The uphill hiker always gets the right of way and the downhill hiker should step off the trail to allow the uphill hiker to pass. Happy trails!

IMPORTANT: We only went 2 miles on the Ptarmigan Ridge trail, so the "snow free" status only applies to that first 2 miles. Previous reports talk about snow fields to cross, I'm sure they are still there (some of them, at least). The big pile of snow right at the trailhead is gone, though - it was very easy to get on the trail from the parking lot.

My 21yo son and I went on another father-son adventure. We wanted some sunset and Milky Way photos, so we went up to Artist Point on an almost-new-moon night. We were not disappointed!

We left Bellingham at 6:45pm, arrived art Artist Point around 8:15pm. We stopped at Picture Lake - the sun was setting on Shuksan, and we couldn't resist taking a few photos. Kudos to the people doing official photo shoots at the lake, you picked a great night for it.

The parking lot was half full when we arrived at Artist Point. You need a NW Forest Pass, I bought my $5 day pass online and printed it out before we left.

**EMBARRASSING A-HA MOMENT** I finally figured out how to buy a digital day pass when you are at the trailhead. I kept seeing QR codes you can scan at trailheads, but I never had reception - how can you scan a QR code and buy a pass without reception?!??! I'm sure you all know this, but it took me until now to figure it out. You have to download the Recreation.gov app on your phone beforehand, when you have reception. Then you can scan and pay at the trailhead and it works without reception, as long as you already have the app. Like I said, I'm sure you are all saying "duh" but that was my embarrassing revelation, I share it freely with you. I can't wait to try out this new wisdom on my next hike :)

Back to the trip report, sorry. We hiked the Ptarmigan Ridge trail, hoping to get at least a few miles along. At first we went without headlamps - we made it almost to the intersection with the Chain Lakes Trail before turning them on. (We also had spare batteries, an inflatable lantern, and glow-sticks, all as backup - we don't mess around when it comes to hiking in the darkness, we know how those movies end).

It was surprisingly warm - we had a breeze but it was a warm one. I was in short sleeves and hiking pants the whole time (I added a fleece when we stopped to rest). We were glad to have sturdy boots and poles, since we were stumbling around in the dark. The trail seems a lot rockier than in the daytime, maybe the rocks bloom at night or something.

We continued along the Ptarmigan Ridge trail, it goes down for a bit, then starts to traverse below the ridge. I had never been on this trail (only the Chain Lakes part), and in the total darkness, it is a little challenging. On some sections, there is just a dark void to your right - if we took a wrong step, was this certain death or not? 

After dropping 200 feet in 1/3 mile, it starts to climb again. And it is very rocky, with occasional streams flowing across or on the trail. We were VERY glad to have AllTrails with us - we checked the route a lot (especially coming back). At times finding the trail was difficult - was this the trail, or just a stream bed, or just a section of trail-like rocks that led into the dark void? It would be very easy to get turned around or stuck (or worse) at night, without navigation aid. Grateful to the people we met near the trailhead (the only people we saw) - they warned us about navigating the rocky sections of Ptarmigan Ridge at night. 

We made it to the 2 mile mark and figured that was far enough. It was just amazing - dark and silent, with a million stars above us. The Milky Way indeed appeared. It was also a little spooky and unsettling, but that is part of the fun of night hiking. Were those loose rocks falling naturally, or were they dislodged by a giant paw or hoof?!? My son took the best photos (the ones posted with this report) - he figured out how to do a 30-second exposure using the timer feature and leaning his iPhone against his poles on the ground. 

After resting and craning our necks skyward, we headed back. Again, we had to check our route numerous times, but eventually made it back to the intersection with Chain Lakes. We took some time there to rest, snack, and take more photos. Then back on the trail, and back to the car around 11:30pm. Still plenty of cars in the lot, and still really dark and quiet.

Even though it was night, we went through 1.5 nalgene bottles of water. I'm sure in the day you would need more - most of the trail is exposed. There are a few streams in the first two miles for filtering, but if it's a hot day, you are going to bake. Just be prepared so it's not miserable.

My son drove home and I immediately fell asleep in the passenger seat - those of you with young children, this is one of the eventual perks :) We had a fantastic time in the mountains - night hiking is just different, and we experienced awe, beauty, mystery, solitude, and the feeling of minuteness in a big universe. Worth every stumble!

We hiked a total of 4.3 miles, 800 feet elevation, on the trail for 3 hours 15 minutes.

Happy #HikeaThon everyone! Grateful to be in the mountains with my son.

I left the Artist Point parking lot at 2:30am for a moonlight hike to Goat Lake. I did this hike four weeks ago and it was so much less challenging this time – it was hard to believe how much snow melted between the hikes. The remaining snow banks are easily traversed (as well as easy to follow the beaten path, even in moonlight) and inbound I didn’t use any gear, not even poles. Since the snow bank crossings were usually on downgrades when returning, I did use poles outbound. The moon was so bright, I only used the flashlight in a couple of very short segments within moon shadowed areas and to see how deep the meltwater runoffs over the trail were. Only saw one meteor (possibly because the moon was so bright), but Venus and Jupiter rose over Shuksan in a tight, brilliant formation only about two moon diameters (or one degree) apart. Nice breeze kept it comfortable and almost completely bug-free. Ate a little meal by the lake and didn’t need repellant, a first for me. Many fantastic flower displays along the route. Back to parking lot at 10:30am and found cars circling to find a space.…on a Monday!

hello fellow hikers!

Scoping out some backcountry camping sites, my friend and I set out for Goat Lake off the Ptarmigan Ridge trail. From the trail we were awarded views of Baker, Mount Shuksan, Glacier Peak, and Mount Rainier in the far distance. 

Trail: Several snow patches to cross, as you get close to the junction with the trail down to the lake. We did not have spikes or poles and navigated them without any issue. We even glissaded down one of them on our way out. Also, pretty plentiful water sources along the way, which we were surprised by. The trail is very exposed, with little shade, so it is nice to have some spots to refill water & dunk your sun hoodie in cold water. 

Goat Lake: The trail down to the lake is unmarked, but pretty obvious from Ptarmigan Ridge. It is about 4 miles from the parking lot. The lake and its shores still have lots of snow. I am not sure if there is a spot to pitch a tent right now, but that will change in the coming weeks. 

Wildflowers: Lupines, golden asters and pink mountain-heather :)

Bugs: Not bad!

Parking: Full lot on a Sunday morning, which was to be expected. We had to park down the Artist Point road but hiked the Wild Goose Trail up to the main lot. 

Road: Paved 

Final Stats: 9.6 miles & 1.998 ft of elevation gain

happy hiking!

-Lauren is Exploring

IG: @laurenisexploring_

Beautiful and warm day with lots of flowers, bees, clear views in every direction. Mt Baker did not disappoint! It was a very crowded and frustrating hike (yes we were part of that crowd) with lots of polite and impolite trail manners. Bring your patience with you until it calms down in the Fall.