Ptarmigan Ridge — Friday, Aug. 10, 2001

North Cascades > Mount Baker Area

Wow! This is shaping to be the best hiking year ever. We have been waiting to do Ptarmigan Ridge for years, two years ago the road never even opened. Last year we came here on a cloudy late August day and from atop Table mountain you could see the entire ridge was covered in snow much to the delight of several off season snowboarders. This year we came fully prepared with full on Gore-Tex, ice axes and crampons. They never left our packs; we didn’t even bother to put on gaiters. There were a few large snowfields still around but the vast majority of the trail was snow free. The largest of the snowfields comes right after the split with the Chain Lakes Trail and it is the only one in which you must traverse uphill. There is a well-worn track running through all of them and all you really need are a set of good set of boots and preferably trekking poles. Even if you went without poles the run-outs were brief and rarely precipitous. Most of the ridge is snow free and covered in peak season wildflowers. The air was buzzing with lots of insects that were too busy pollinating to bather with us. We never used a drop of bug spray and we didn’t receive a single bite. We hiked past the Coleman Pinnacle where off to your left you could see a lake melting out that hasn’t been visible for a number of years. The trail curves right as it rounds the basin of Avalanche Gorge and the flowers give way to bands of rock. First orange scree, then grey and then finally the black moonscape that is camp Kisor. The view of Baker from here is obscured by a big hump that is covered with a crevassed snowfield. As you get closer you can make out an obvious route up the rock on the left side. Once you crest this hump you have an unparalleled view of both Mt Shuksan and Mt. Baker. A number of precarious rock outcroppings offer themselves as idea lunching spots. Baker looks very imposing from this side, as both the Rainbow and Sholes glaciers are full of seracs and heavily crevassed. There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky although it was hazy and Glacier Peak was barely visible (not that Karen could tell as she had lost her glasses somewhere on he trail.) A Good Samaritan however found them and placed them where we would find them on the return trip. The way back was completely in shade which was a welcome relief as there had not been the slightest breeze all day, remarkable considering how close we were to a glacier. We arrived back at our vehicle only to find a ticket on our new truck. Having just purchased the truck the day before (a bright yellow Ford Ranger) we had forgotten to transfer our annual pass over from the Corolla. Oops! Cost of a day pass $5, having a great hiking day – priceless! Happy Hiking