Beautiful Thanksgiving snowshoe adventure up to Artist and Huntoon Points starting from the Mt Baker Ski Area parking lot.
Drove up using my little 2WD sedan.The state plows WA-542 all the way up to the Mt Baker ski area parking lot, so there wasn't any loose snow on the road, but there was a little frost and ice here and there. I was driving up around 10am with the temperature under the shadows of the trees around 35 F. Take it real easy around the hairpin turns up the final 6 miles to the parking area. Be especially careful of ice when turning around the several curved bridges on this road! Fortunately, I managed to reach the top without any issues.
The weather at the top was fantastic! Blue skies with occasional wispy clouds and temperatures in the 50s while standing in direct sun. Don't forget to apply sunscreen when you get here. Started hiking up the Wild Goose Trail from the backcountry overflow parking lot. Tried to stick to the main trails, but there were so many social trails crossing all over the snow that following the main trails became all but impossible. I just stuck to whichever clusters of snowshoe prints heading up the mountain felt the most prominent.
Along the way up, I took several snowshoe trail shortcuts to significantly cut down the distance I would have traveled if following the unplowed portion of the road to Artist Point. The snow was mostly compact at this point with no new recent snowfall. Avalanche danger didn't seem high, but if you want to play it as safe as possible, then you should stick to the main road where the incline will be a low as possible. I had no trouble traversing the firm snow using snow shoes and trekking poles with snow baskets. There were numerous old post holes in the snow, mostly fossilized now in the hardened snow.
Today was Thanksgiving Day and the last day of excellent weather in the forecast, so many people were out enjoying themselves snowshoeing and skiing. Everyone I met was very friendly. The improvisational, scattered nature of the social trails gave people ample room to spread out so that it never felt overcrowded.
The hike up to Artist Point couldn't have taken longer than 45 minutes from the parking lot. Once Artist Point was in view, I turned left (east) and followed the trails to Huntoon Point, which provided spectacular overlooks of Mount Shuksan and Mount Baker. I spend the majority the remaining time capturing photo after photo. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous framed by rolling slopes of untouched snow and a dazzling blue sky.
Once I'd had my fill of photography, I snowshoed back down the way I'd come, with many more people still coming up the trail. My goal was to get back to the car and down the 6 miles of switchbacks before temperatures could drop and the ice would return. Made it down by 3pm without incident. The temperature down this stretch of road was 50 F. There was plenty of water from snowmelt on the road, but no more ice or frost.
Overall, a lovely day spent in a gorgeous area. Can't wait to return to go skiing this winter or to hike the many summer trails after the snow melts.
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