Ptarmigan Ridge Fall 2018

Colorful blueberry bushes

It was simply a glorious day on Ptarmigan Ridge today. Although we were supposed to head south to the Baker Lake area, some of us decided we wanted to head out to Ptarmigan Ridge, scheduled for last week but didn't go because of weather. Since today's forecast was for it to be sunny and gorgeous, we went. And that it was!

Our Baker's Dozen, taken by a passerby

Thirteen of us piled into cars and made the drive to Artist Point to begin this trip. Several other Trailblazers went to the other destination, which I hope to do next week, if the weather holds like this. Simply amazing warmth and sunshine for the end of September. That's Shuksan behind us.

Heading toward Mt. Baker

It looks dry, and it was, but there was still some snow left over from last year. I wondered if we would encounter any, because I don't think I've ever hiked Ptarmigan Ridge without some. Sure enough, there was still some snow around.

Heading toward the mountain, crossing snow

We had three snow crossings, all of them small and easy to navigate, and we headed to our usual spot for lunch, which is around the corner from this picture, where we would have a full view of Mt. Baker.

Coming into view

There she is, in all her glory, a beautiful mountain that we get very close to on this hike. If we went all the way to the end, we would see the camp used by people who climb the mountain. But we weren't intending to go that far.

Almost close enough to touch

Once we went around the bend and saw this closeup of Mt. Baker, we decided to take a lunch break. We piled onto a hillside and spent quite a bit of time just enjoying the view, the company, and being very grateful for such a great day.

Bob scoring his lunch spot

You can tell by the way Bob is dressed that it's certainly unseasonably warm, with not even a light jacket. We didn't hurry, just taking in the wonderful scenery and in no need to venture much father. However, after a break, most of the Trailblazers decided to go a short distance along the trail, while others (me included) took a nap.

Tarns and Mt. Glacier

Turning to the left of Mt. Baker on the skyline, we saw these two tarns almost completely clear of snow, with Mt. Glacier in full view behind. This mountain is only visible from trails; it's not possible to drive to it. Every other time I've seen these glacial lakes, they have been much smaller, because most of the snow was not melted. Today they look huge!

Farewell to Ptarmigan Ridge for another year

And then it was time to retrace our steps and head back out of the wilderness. It was just the most perfect day possible. I did get home not too late, but I had to eat something and watch the news before I wrote this post. Now I'm ready to relax, my day is done, and what a great one it was!
:-)