My first hike of 2015! The trail is freshly groomed (and a bit icy) all the way up to the backcountry boundary and well trod up to the viewpoint / trailhead above. From there, you'll find a myriad of snowfields and trails to explore around the summer parking lot. Enjoy the views and remember the sunscreen!

This is really just a spectacular snowshoe. We were heading out from Seattle planning to go to Stevens Pass or something nearby, but when we could see the mountains from the highway, I decided we had to give it a shot. Baker was looking at me driving down i5, how could I say no? I've been dying to do this snowshoe for months. Road is plowed all the way, which is great. We arrived around 12:30, and I had my concerns about whether we'd make it to the top or not. As long as I saw Shuksan, I'd be happy. We snapped a few pics over Picture Lake just in case it disappeared for some reason, parked, and got going. Gorgeous! There was only one steep ish section, which was on the groomed road. Besides that, we were avoiding avalanche terrain (there was avy debris in several places) so it was all gradual inclines. For the most part we could keep to the traditional route, skirting to the outside of some avalanche-y slopes. We later ran into three other snowshoers who said they had triggered a few of the avalanches we had passed. We managed to not trigger anything (luck?), so we had an uneventful trek. Shuksan is hiding behind another peak on the way up, but finally peaks out in all its glory about a mile from the top. Baker comes into view just after you pass the bathroom, which is a landmark that won't be there much longer - it was almost buried in snow! At least, someone told us it was a bathroom. Since I hadn't been up there in summer, I have no idea. It seemed like most snowshoers stopped there, but we continued up a few knolls to find a place with good views to have a snack and some tea and watch the sky behind Baker, and headed back down after about half an hour. Overall, this is a phenomenal hike. Easily accessible (if you don't mind driving almost 3 hours from Seattle) and not too difficult in terms of physical effort. Definitely some avalanche prone slopes, but on a day with decent conditions, just be smart. Fortunately it was mostly deserted on a Tuesday, I hear weekends are more popular. Oh, and did I mention the views of Baker and Shuksan up close and personal? Unbelievable.

Snow shoe'd most of the way from Heather Meadows parking lot to Artist Point; had to turn back due to injury (sustained prior) but most of the way was easy to moderate. Good snow pack, started out early so it wasn't super busy but started to hit crowds on the way back down. Had some tricky passing areas along hillsides due to narrow trail but otherwise a beautiful jaunt to start the new year.

What a beautiful day for snowshoeing. We arrived at the parking lot (up past the chalet, past the chair lift area allll the way to the end of 542) and got started at about 10:30 a.m. It was pretty comical snowshoeing up next to skiers and snowboarders - I didn't realize that in order to reach Artist Point you would literally be snowshoeing up a ski run before veering right to head up to Artist Point. It was pretty fun watching the skiers and snowboarders whiz by. Lots of cross country skiers were out as well, and we basically followed them up the trails to Artist Point since it was our first time snowshoeing there. It's a little confusing, but there are lots of mini cross country ski trails and cross country skiers leading you up that you can follow. Once you get to Artist Point, it's kind of like a large parking lot with gently rolling hills - you can hike east or west and just explore the whole area. The views of Shuksan and Baker are beautiful, and more adventurous hikers can extend their trip up Table Mountain, although caution should be taken with the current avalanche conditions. All in all, a beautiful day to get out and snowshoe. The only things I would have done differently were worn gaiters and gotten there earlier. Starting at 10:30 was good, but the light was pretty bright and lots of people were out. There is a privy in the parking lot, and we had cell reception on the mountain. The roads leading up to the parking lot were in pretty good condition, some patches of ice and melted snow, but my friend's Prius made it just fine. Looking forward to coming back here and exploring this area again!

This was a last minute decision and we left at 8 am and got to the parking lot at 1030. The roads were cleared and there was no problem getting even in my prius. However note that you should carry snow chains at this time (until April 1st). Parking was easy. The trails were pretty well marked today with significant foot traffic over the last couple of days. The views at the top were great. Note that there is still a moderate avalanche danger. The slopes on Table Mountain in particular were tricky. There were some yahoo's climbing up there but it is dangerous. Tomorrow is supposed to be the last sunny day for a while..so definitely head out there. The parking lot was crazy when we got down around 1230 so the earlier you get there the better.