A terrific blue bird day to enjoy mount baker's magnificence yesterday! We started early to catch sunrise and beat the crowds. Arrived at parking lot with only a few cars. Roads are paved and no fresh snow made this easy to get in and out of. We carried snowshoes but didn't really need them as snow is packed. Gaitors and spikes did the job. Be sure to bundle up  as temps were freezing and the chilly wind gusts at the top made it even more colder. Caught some light pink hues around sunrise with clear views of Mt. Baker, Shuksan, Larrabee, American border and Canadian border peaks and many more I can't name in  north cascades. Had a quick snack break and made our way back well before the crowds started pouring in.  One of the most beautiful alpine areas in pnw and one of my absolute favorites!! My heart is full❤️

Photo credits to my patient fellow photographer friends!

Day 1

The Monday of MLK weekend provided a rare alignment of circumstance, available time, good avy forecast, and a stable weather window for the Mt. Baker area. This meant we had the opportunity to explore the phenomenal winter paradise over Artist Point and around Table Mountain one more time, and with two nights in the backcountry! We left the Olympia area early morning and arrived at the Heather Meadows parking lot about 11a.m. Despite paying for an unoccupied vehicle spot for two nights we struggled to find an appropriate spot available, and with no attendant to be found we left our truck in one of the open parking spaces in the center of the lot.

My partner and I began the walk from the parking lot to Artist Point with modest crowds and a path so consolidated neither one of us felt the need for traction or snowshoes. After a short lunch with an outstanding view of Mt. Baker we began the traverse around the south side of Table Mountain. The avalanche forecast for the area was green at all elevations and aspects, but please use your own observations and experience when crossing avy terrain such as this. Fortunately, for us on this day the snowpack was well consolidated, and temps had remained cool enough that we weren’t left with a refrozen sheet of ice. We were able to kick steps and walk all the way to the prominent ridge emanating from the NE shoulder of Mt. Baker with minimal post holing. Here we set up camp for the night and enjoyed the incredible scenery before climbing inside of multiple sleeping bags with a few hand warmers as well…

Day 2

We awoke to a beautiful sunny day that rapidly became quite cloudy, mountain weather I suppose. Our goal today was to climb onto and explore Table Mountain and either camp on top or down by the lakes on the summer Chain Lakes Trail. We decided to head around the SW side of Table and try to loosely follow the summer route to avoid some of the more exposed slopes. This year there was a well set skin track that we used to guide us in our own step kicking through the semi-steep snow in the forest. The sun began to return as we finished climbing out of the thin woods and to the final climb onto Table, only to disappear again when we arrived on top. The top of Table Mountain is a beautiful creation in winter, rolling pillows of pristine snow and views of Mt. Shuksan, Mt. Baker and the surrounding peaks. After about 1.5 miles of exploration and attempting to find an alternate route down to Herman Saddle (there isn’t one, it’s a cliff) we realized we were running low on water and were ready to make camp. Since some daylight remained, we descended the way we came and found some flowing water (less snow to melt!!) next to Mazama Lake. We set up camp just above its frozen shores.

Day 3

It was cold, really cold, overnight a water bottle partially froze in my partner’s sleeping bag, condensation froze heavily on my bag, and hoarfrost covered the outside of the tent. But the sun had returned, and the painful frozen toes and fingers were quickly forgotten! We snowshoed over the edge of Iceberg Lake, again, use your own judgement crossing frozen lakes and water, and then climbed to Herman Saddle. After a brief disagreement over my route selection, I tend to be overly aggressive and head straight up, we saw a few skiers for the first time since Monday. Then we decided to follow a descending traverse high along the northern side of the bowl on a line we picked out from Artist Point two days earlier, this kept us in the sun and avoided the steepest decent into the valley. Another 45 minutes of casual but beautiful snowshoeing along the winter Bagley Lakes route brought us back to the parking lot and concluded our trip!

Summary

This is a stunning multiday winter exploration route if the conditions allow. The loop can be done in one day as a snowshoe or ski tour, but we enjoy the extended time in the wilderness, especially with the rare winter sun! Enjoy and be safe out there!

My second time snowshoeing to Artist Point, and it was a huge success! My goals were to 1) feel more confident about this route, 2) get up in the mountains and snow to find some soul renewal, and 3) get out of cell range to avoid any news for as long as possible. Three for three! :)

I left Bellingham at 7:00am, stopping only in Glacier at the ranger Visitor's Center for a quick bathroom break. The road was bare the whole way, but it was cold enough that it could be a little icy in the shade, so I was cautious on the turns. Some beautiful frosted trees the higher I went, especially as the sun was rising.

Arrived to the chaos around 8:20am - keep heading around the one-way loop, the attendants will point you to the parking lot for snowshoeing (it's eventually off to the right). There were already 50 cars in the lot, and that's not even counting the downhill skiers in their own lots! So if you want solitude and silence, don't try Artist Point on a weekend or holiday. Everyone was patient and positive, though, just excited to be up in the mountains with the sun shining.

The trail starts to the left of the bathrooms. Pretty much just follow everyone else. I saw backcountry skiers galore, as well as fellow snowshoers and people just booting up the trail. The trail is packed down enough that boots (maybe with traction) would be OK, but if you go off the beaten path, snowshoes are a must.

The first time I did this route, it was a weekday morning, there was a bunch of new snow, and I was all by myself on the trail. I somehow got off the main route, and wound up on some steep hillsides that felt pretty sketchy. I really wanted to feel more confident on this route, and today really helped. I just followed the crowd, and the route became very obvious. The only tricky part is after you get up the steep slope that borders the ski area, you come to a rocky knoll. You can go up and over, or you can go around to the left (east). I saw some people going up and over, but it's steep and a very narrow zig-zag path. I went the long way around, and I'm glad I did. 

No matter what route you take, it all meets up at Artist Point. I had to use my AllTrails map to see where I was - at one point I was right near the parking lot bathroom, but there was no sign of it. Definitely looks a bit different in July! :) Next time I would like to snowshoe over to Huntoon Point, I saw several people heading that way.

I went back down the same way. It's only 3.1 miles round trip, but you gain over 800 feet in 1.5 miles, so just keep that in mind. It took me two hours, including a rest at the top, enjoying the amazing views of Shuksan and Kulshan (Baker), and drinking some good peppermint hot cocoa.

It was 18 degrees when I started, so I had on fleece, warm hat, gloves and handwarmers. Within a half mile, though, I was down to a long-sleeve and a sun hat. Uphill snowshoeing will do that to you!

Grateful to be in the mountains, grateful to feel more confident about this route, and grateful to be out of cell range for so long.

Arrived around 0800 this morning - the sunrise was unreal! Hot pink and orange everywhere. 

Road:

I was thankful that we took the jeep with AWD! There were a few icy, snowy patches to navigate where AWD was helpful, however, any car can make it. The parking lot was pretty snowy and icy, very thankful for AWD then as well.

Trail:

We decided to just wear our Mountaineering boots for this hike. We brought snowshoes and spikes, but never ended up donning them. The snow was a dry powder and unless you stepped off the main boot path, you wouldn't posthole. Most people were still wearing snowshoes or spikes, very few without traction like us. There was a solid and easy to follow path to the ridge. On the ridge, it was extremely windy and cold, so we didn't stay long. 

Weather:

An amazing blue bird morning! It was between 14-22 degrees during our hike, however the sun was shining. The wind picked up on the ridge, but was calm below it.

Misc:

Many dogs off leash, which our leash reactive dog didn't appreciate. Consider bringing booties for your dog, it was very helpful for our pup. It took us about 2 hours RT with lots of time to stop and take pictures and play in the snow.

Glad I went despite a forecast promising gusty winds and clouds - it ended up being a beautiful calm day with blue skies.

Parking at the ski area was quite busy as I arrived at about 12.30 pm, overflowing all the way around Picture Lake. Early birds were leaving however, so I found a spot without much circling around.

In the current conditions, you can make it to the top without snowshoes if you stick to the main path covered with hard compacted snow; saw a lot of people in just hiking boots and microspikes. Snowshoes will be helpful to venture off the trail or explore Huntoon Point.

About 3 hrs roundtrip.