Artist Point Snowshoe — Monday, Dec. 28, 2015

North Cascades > Mount Baker Area

Started out at the upper parking lot around 10:30am in cloudy weather. Clouds broke enough that we had amazing views at the Point. I hadn't been here in the winter before but it was lovely! Trail splits in various locations along the way but not really an issue so long as you head to the pass and then uphill from there. I brought lots of warm clothes, chairs, a z-rest and a stove/camp cook gear for a nice hot lunch and hot chocolate with whiskey on the top. People all thought I must be camping to have so much gear :) However, the relaxed enjoyment at the top without being freezing cold was worth carrying 35+ lbs up the mountain and back. Clearly the birds at Artist Point are used to people, they watched carefully for us to drop any morse and were tame enough to rest on my snowshoes while I was wearing theml--- please don't feed them! I was sad to see them so tame :( The snow was light and fluffy and smoothed down along the snowshoe tracks by hoards of skinning-up skiiers, so this posed some challenge on the descent for my novice snow-shoeing mother because she had trouble getting traction on the smooth skinned snow. Snow was very fluffy and light so avoiding the track and walking in fresh snow got her knee deep. Perhaps fresh snow from last night? Descended as the clouds grew thick and the sky overcast with snow flurries. The road had compact snow and ice in the morning but was more slushy on the way back down.