Bottom Line:
I would say "GO NOW!" Just the perfect mix of flowers and lingering snow to make things REALLY beautiful. Two of the lakes still have some remaining ice which also makes them pop. The views of Shuksan and Baker are simply tremendous. This is another loop - second in a week - and I would strongly recommend a COUNTERCLOCKWISE direction right now. This way, you will ascend snow-free switchbacks and descend the other side of the pass in deep snow (where one just needs to dig in those heals!), and there is only one short uphill section in deep snow just before Artist Point. Almost everyone was hiking in the other direction, and the ascent to the pass is long, steep and snowy. Overall, the trail is about 20% snow-covered, but I never felt compelled to put on my mirco-spikes. Pools and waterproof hiking boots recommended. CAUTION: The section of the Ptarmigan Ridge trail looping back towards Artist Point has many waterfalls that flow UNDER a snow-covered trail - be very careful.
Stats:
- Distance: 9 miles
- Duration: ~ 5 hours
- Vertical: 2100 ft
- Road/Parking: Hwy 542 is in good condition, although there is some striping work going on that may cause intermittent delays (looks like they are almost done). Parked at the Heather Meadows Visitor Center which in and of itself is a fantastic spot! Parking here is somewhat limited - maybe 2-dozen spots. There is additional parking, and a much bigger lot, slightly down the hill at the Bagley Lake trailhead. Toilets. National Forest Pass required.
- Weather: Sunshine, no wind, and HOT (~80F). This trail is very exposed for most of its distance, so it was quite warm for hiking, but luckily there were many streams for a nice cool drink! But I was drenched from head to toe for most of the day anyway!
- Flowers: LOTS of flowers, starting with pink and white heather out of the aptly named Heather Meadows! With the change in elevation and the lingering snow fields, there is a wide variety of flowers - both early-season lilies and later season stuff. Among the flowers seen: heather (pink, white), penstemon, avalanche lily, goatsbeard, western pasqueflower, bleeding hearts, arrowleaf groundsel, common self-heal, phlox, pond-lily, yarrow, arnica, cinquefoil, waterlily and daisy. While there were lots of flowers, there is even more to come (really just getting going, especially at higher elevations).
- Water: There is flowing water for filtering on pretty much the entire length of the trail, so no real need to carry water. Really enjoying my new coffee-press like Grayl OnePress filter - super easy and no trying to suck water through a filter!
- Trail: The trail is in good condition overall all, but there are significant sections of snow, mud and water flowing on the trail itself. From Heather Meadows Visitor Center, head down the hill towards the lake below where there is a stone bridge spanning the lake outlet creek. From this point forward, the trail is obvious through Artist Point. From the latter, the trail heads directly downhill unlike the road that meanders down the hill in wide switchbacks. GPS is useful here to stay on the snow-covered and road-interrupted trail until you hit a long set of very steep, snow-free stairs descending back down Heather Meadows. You will be glad you did not come up these stairs by hiking clockwise! The trail passes 4 lakes and could be extended slightly to include Bagley Lake. You essentially circumnavigate Table Mountain with an up-and-down trail (see elevation profile below).
- Takeaway: First-timer on this trail, which I had always assumed was just a meander through a basin of lakes, but this trail climbs to a pass that separates the front and backside lakes and has some definite challenge with the remaining snowfields. It is often described as the most beautiful trail at Mt Baker, and I can see why (although Ptarmigan Ridge in the fall is a stunner). The flowers have not nearly peaked, but if you want to see some remaining lake ice you will need to hurry!
Sorry about the sky banding in these pics - a result of compression of very high-definition originals to fit here. I have attached a high-definition video of pretty much the entire loop so one can check out trail/snow conditions ;)
Comments
How did you log 9 miles on a loop that is supposedly 6.2? were you detouring to bag some peaks? Thx!
Posted by:
kmeechan on Jul 25, 2024 07:44 PM
You can see from my pictures that I did quite a bit of exploring of Bagley Lake to get some views from above the lake not visible directly from the loop trail. Did the same thing at Iceberg Lake where I had to do some bushwacking to get to the overgrown shore. On the descent from the pass on the other hand, I went straight down the snowfield instead of following the buried switchbacks, which should have made things shorter! However I mananged it, my Garmnin GPS tracking came in at 9 miles ;)
Posted by:
Alpine Wanderer on Jul 29, 2024 06:23 PM
This is a great review of the trail--more accurate than others I've read, I feel. We also logged 9 miles on both a phone and a fitbit, even though officially it's 7 miles, and we didn't add in Bagley Lake. And I feel like a lot of other reviews vastly understate how much elevation gain occurs along the trail. But yes, it's an absolutely beautiful trail and your pictures are fantastic!
Posted by:
kguenther on Jul 29, 2024 05:00 PM
Hey - thanks so much! This was a great hike at a great time with the still partly frozen lakes :)
Posted by:
Alpine Wanderer on Jul 29, 2024 06:24 PM