Artist Point Snowshoe — Friday, Feb. 18, 2000

North Cascades > Mount Baker Area

Great weather brought my girlfriend and I out of hibernation. We drove up to the Mt.Baker Ski Area and then hiked through packed snow up to Artist Point area. The drive up to the ski area was fine - only a few spots of snow on the road near the ski area. The hike was relatively easy. Near the ski area the snow was packed down to the point that snowshoes were completely unecessary. Farther up towards Artist Point, however, the snow was less packed despite most people's attempts to follow each other's tracks. Still, it wasn't too tough for a short day hike. We made it all the way up to Kulshan Ridge were there's a great view of both Shuksan and Baker. The weather was perfect - warm, sunny and only a light wind, if any. After a very enjoyable picnic we headed back to the parking lot. It was 2 hours up from the lot and 1 hour back down, including a 20-30 minute break. Overall an excellent outing.