Ptarmigan Ridge — Tuesday, Sep. 21, 1999

North Cascades > Mount Baker Area

Hiked the Ptarmigan Ridge trail until glacier travel became mandatory. Trail to this point is two-thirds still snow covered. Additionally, one may only drive to Austin Pass and hike the extra mile to Artist's Point. This was my first time to this area and I was blown away. Incredible scenery with Shuksan on one side and Baker on the other. Watched the moon rise over Shuksan at sunset - amazing. There are some short sections of steep snow - no problem in the afternoon, but still kinda hard in the early AM. I wore plastic mountaineering boots and had no problem, though an ice ax would have been nice. There are several places to camp off the snow in established tent pads, however there are plenty of flat areas on snow to minimize impacts. This area rivals Cascade Pass for incredible views.