Ptarmigan Ridge — Friday, Aug. 24, 2001

North Cascades > Mount Baker Area

Woke up in the back of a pickup truck at Artist Point parking lot. That's better than waking up in a rose bush 12 miles from where the party started. It's 140 miles and almost three hours from Greenlake area. Took an hour for comatose wife to get ready. The trail is a bit moist from recent monsoons, however this elimated most bugs, as well as dusting the high peaks down to about 7000' . The trail goes up and down, never steeply, contouring from one side of the ridge to the other. There are occasional snowfields that may make the novice nervous. Crampons and axe were not required to our turnaround point, about 3+ miles in. High clouds gave way to blue skies. Views from the parking lot are almost as good. Saw 1.6 million hikers on the way back. There was a line to tinkle in the only trees on this path. Koma Kulshan, ie Baker, is very photogenic from this area. Stats: R/T 6+ miles, 1450' cumulative gain, four and a half casual hours of walking and gawking.