Table Mountain, Picture Lake — Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2010

North Cascades > Mount Baker Area

Ralph had been waiting over 30 years for this moment, so he said. Photographing Mount Shuksan above Picture lake was something he delayed until today. So we packed our camera gear and set out to capture a dream. The weather was not as sunny in the morning as we had hoped so we did an alternate hike to the summit of Table mountain nearby, while waiting for the sun. We had parked near Picture lake so we hiked the road until reaching a trail going to Artist Point. We continued on the well maintained trail and took the upper junction to trail #681. It is rocky and exposed in places but traverses nicely to the flat, mesa on top. As we headed back down to Picture lake the couds began to clear. We were greeted at the lake shore by a very friendly Canada goose who followed us around and ate blueberries along the way. It appears the shore-line trail was designed with photographers in mind and several others were captureing the mountain and fall colors. Ralph and I spent some time locating the perfect spot where the mountain the Fall colors and the lake all come together. We took our photos and departed as the sun sank lower and behind the clouds. Just before departing the goose gave us a show on the water and we realized she (female, judging by its size) couldn't fly, after seeing an aborted take-off. So we hope she is able to eventually fly away but meanwhile if you get to the lake before Winter sets in you might be greeted by a lone goose trying to survive on blueberries. http://www.flickr.com/photos/nabuckley/sets/72157625032635863/