From the first step at Artist Point all the way along Ptarmigan Ridge to the summit of Coleman Pinnacle [6403'] the spectular views never stop. This hike is rarely snow free, but because of the lack of snow this year, I only encountered two relatively non-steep hard snow patches. In an ordinary snow year I would suspect that an ice ax and knowledge of how to use it would be necessary to get all the way to Coleman Pinnacle. The day was as perfect as one can get in the Pacific Northwest. There was no wind, warm sunshine and no bugs. There were also relatively few hikers. I would not want to do this hike in marginal weather. On the way back to Artist Point I took a scrambler's track up the backside of Table Mountain which began at the junction with the Chaiin Lakes Trail. This track should not be attempted by anyone who has not had some experience traveling on steep cross country type terrain. I was relieved that I could take the official Forest Service trail back down to Artist Point.

First time to Artist Point and Ptarmigan Ridge Trail and I will return. Some road construction delays (10-15 mins.) on the way to the Mt. Baker Ski area but it is such a long drive what's another 15 minutes. For average hiker types this is a late season hike but this year only a few snow crossings left on the trail and they are safe now. Views begin at the parking lot and expand as you gradually climb up to and around the Coleman Pinnacle. At 4 miles you gain a ridge, Mt. Rainier comes into view along with Ross Lake and this is a good stopping place for most. A beautiful tarn or lake can be seen just below and is easy to reach. The main trail continues about 2 more miles and climbs up the side of Baker. (On this day we saw a herd of about 40 goats near the lake or tarn.) Even on a Wednesday there were a good number of people so weekends would be very crowded, start early. WW

Ptarmigan Ridge at Mt. Baker 7/23/05 50 degrees with a strong west wind most of the day, is this summer ? In the North Cascades near this volcanic peak the answer is frequently yes. It actually was pleasant hiking weather all day. The clouds gradually broke up throughout the morning revealing more and more of the surrounding mountains, glaciers and valleys. By mid afternoon visibility was 40 miles with everything in full view except the top of Mt. Baker. We did get a brief glimpse of the summit during lunch at Camp Kiser. Ptarmigan Ridge is on the east side of Baker and is at different times a very popular or remote trail depending on weather and snowpack. In 1999 and other heavy snow years it's a snowshoe trip all summer long. Even in light snow years (1992,1998,2001,2005) it still has some permanent summer snowfields to cross. Normally I wouldn't hike it till late Aug. or Sept. but in this snow starved year July was just fine. The trailhead is at Artists Point, a wonderfully scenic spot in it's own right. This is where the Mt. Baker hiway (SR542) finally ends, on a high alpine ridge line, with mountains and valleys all around. The views from the parking lot include Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan the two tallest and most beautiful mountains in the North Cascades. Four trails start from this spot and they are all very very good. Ptarmigan Ridge is the best one. It heads due west straight at Mt. Baker and stays well above tree line the whole way. We started at 9:40 and had the trail to ourselves most of the trip. After the first mile and a half the first snow patches appeared. At 2 miles we met a family that was camping on the ridge and just finishing breakfast. At the 3.5 mile mark, just as we started onto our longest snow crossing, we saw a herd of mountain goats about 500 ft. above us in a little ridge top meadow. They were partly obscured by swirly clouds at first and then disappeared into a high grove of mountain hemlock. At this same spot we talked to a lone snowboarder who was also camping here on the biggest snowfield in the area. Since we were the first party on the trail we had some difficulty staying on the trail route where it was snow covered. No real problems though, since our map showed us the exact bearing to take. We walked between 1/2 and 2/3 of a mile total on snow. There are no forests or rivers to see on this hike, but mountains and glaciers all around. A beautiful little turquoise lakelet is visible about 1/2 mile south of Camp Kiser. Several waterfalls thread down cliffs below Mt. Baker's eastern glaciers. Some of the meadows and rocky areas had good wildflowers in bloom. Specially noteworthy were the yellow monkey flowers and blue lupine. Statistics: 9.4 miles, 1400 ft. gross elevation gain 6100 ft. peak elevation (Camp Kiser) mostly in the Mt. Baker Wilderness (USFS) 141 miles from my north Seattle home. Robert Michelson

SIE and I don't care how long the drive is - it's the hike that counts. Leaving the Brickyard Park and Ride at 7:30 we arrived at Artist's Point above the Mt. Baker ski area somewhere around 10 or 10:30. The trail more or less contours a hillside to a junction with the Chain Lakes trail, which drops to the right. After a short bit, the trail drops a few hundred feet to round a rocky face and does a short climb and short drop through mossy streams and monkeyflowers. The trail enters a rocky ""meadow"" and splits below the ridge top it is aiming for. We headed right and where we could have followed the path, headed right up a soft and not steep snowpatch and regained the trail on the ridge. The trail follows this ridge a short ways, climbing, then bears left to contour a steepish slope. From here we were able to see smoke from a fire down in Swift Creek valley. The snow patches were soft and pretty well boot-marked across. Poles were not necessary, although always helpful. On the far spur ridge was a nice viewpoint were many folks stopped. We continued on, contouring another basin and traversing a few more snow patches to the next ridge - an even better viewspot and lunch spot. After eating, we headed uphill above another basin to ""Camp Kiser,"" where the trail drops and contours to its rocky end by the glacier. We headed uphill a few dozen feet, then cut across a snow patch not far from the Coleman Pinnacles and ridge-walked some ways further through rocky gardens towards Baker. The trip back was just as pretty and uneventful, but we sure met the ""thundering herds"" after the Chain Lakes junction. It was a beautiful day to be out and in the mountains. more photos at www.mtnlover.smugmug.com/gallery/188251

Hiked the Ptarmigan Ridge trail to Camp Kaiser in beautiful weather; just enough clouds to keep it from being unbearably hot. We've hiked this trail many times and have never seen it this snowfree this early- looks like September out there. The flowers are a little early, but not as advanced out towards Camp Kaiser as we thought they might be. We had the wonderful experience, wandering the ridge from below Coleman Pinnacle towards Lasiocarpa Ridge, of coming upon a herd of about 30 goats. They held still long enough for us to shoot a few photos before running off. We saw them again later on the hike back but not as close. There is a small fire burning in the lower Swift Creek drainage so there was a smell of smoke and some haze in the air- probably not as bad as east of the crest!