Beautiful moody PNW day! This hike is rocky, with lots of up and downs, and fantastic views throughout. We parked in overflow parking, what Google calls the Bagley Lake Parking around 10:30 (Labor Day weekend Sunday with questionable weather) and the lot was less than 10% full. Ripe berries (huckleberry I think) were everywhere on just about every section of trail and they were delicious! The pika and marmots were out too.
Route Options: We chose the go counterclockwise, but I think from this lot either would be fine. Clockwise has stairs going up for the majority of the elevation gain and counterclockwise has long gradual switchbacks for most of the elevation gain, so your choice is basically stairs up or stairs down. If you start from the Artist point parking area I would recommend counter clockwise, because otherwise you will end with the big stair climb, which could be a bit of a brutal ending.
Baglay Lake: Our hike started around Lower Baglay Lake, going around the west side. There is a loop around the lake and the east side looked manicured and quite flat, which the west side was rocky with a nicer view with the backdrop of Table Mountain. After the tip of the lake the switchbacks start and as you slowly climb above the lake Shuksan emerges. Today its glaciers were a stunning icy blue. There were lots of people (probably the most kids and dogs I have seen) on this section of trail all the way up to the saddle at the top. At the top you can see Shuksan on one side and Baker on the other. Baker was mostly hiding in the clouds today. We stopped there for lunch and enjoyed watching the clouds swirl around Shuksan.
Baker View Section: As you go down the back side of the saddle and around Table mountain to where the trail crosses Ptarmigan Ridge, you get more views of Baker (or opportunities for it to pop out of the clouds) and lots more lakes. I really liked the cute little pool above the first lake. The crowds were much thinner here. There were a few tents pitched around the lakes and a camp toilet between Iceberg and Hayes Lake. We saw a bunch of rock here that almost looked manmade and looked to be hexagonal basalt columns. We saw a couple pikas and marmots here, including an adult with a juvenile.
Ptarmigan Ridge to Artist Point: The trail got more crowded again here. Baker wasn't out, so we skipped walking down the ridge a little way and headed back toward Artist Point. The trail followed a nice ridge cut along the side of Table Mountain. The sweeping side of the mountain were beautifully colored, nearly bare of vegetation, and showed signs of frequent avalanches. Pika and marmot hung out in the rocks above and below us. The Artist Point parking area was packed.
Wild Goose Trail: From Artist Point we followed Wild Goose back to the car. I would say this was the one confusing area where we kept checking out maps. There were a couple spots where you have to cross the parking lot and road. There is some signage, but there are trails going every which way and while many meet up again, others don't. It was a pretty walk with lots of steep stairs taking us rapidly back down. We enjoyed berries along the way and a few glimpses of Shuksan's glaciers, although the peak was now shrouded in fog.
Facilities: There were bathrooms in all of the parking areas. All of them that were sampled were high traffic and pretty smelly. Most were not stocked, so bring your own toilet paper and hand sanitizer.
Road: It is winding but fully paved all the way up to the parking lots. The link below is for what it is like in the winter. In the summer the snow isn't acting as a natural guard rail and you have much better views.
Stats: Total time 4.5 hours, with lots of berry picking and eating! Moving time about 3.75 hours, 7.4 miles, 1.8k elevation gain.
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