My two sons and I typically take an end of season hike around the Mt. Baker Wilderness area in the North Cascades Mountains and I often report on the hikes. We try to go sometime around the end of September or early October to make it just before the snow falls and when the Highway Department closes the road. As with previous years, this year, we made it just the day before closure — we went on the 11th, it closed on the 12th.
The weather forecast called for a storm to be moving in about 1:00 with rain at lower elevations and snow around the 5,500 foot level. Our destination was at the end of the road at about 5,100 feet. And, lo and behold, they were right on the money.
Come along on our alpine day trip.
Driving from Bellingham on the edge of the Salish Sea, we headed east on state route 542, a scenic drive that goes to the Mt. Baker Ski area and terminates a few miles further up the mountain at Artist Point. From the parking lot one can chose from several trail heads.
The drive up follows the Nooksack River which flows out of the glaciers of Mt. Shucksan and Mt. Baker. Over the eons the river has carved a lovely valley running from the mountains to Bellingham Bay.
We arrived at Artist Point in a wet snow storm with slush and decided to strike out on of our usual trails. This time of year we typically find steep slopes covered in reds, yellows and oranges with green backdrops. This time there was more than a little white mixed in.
We were not much more than a quarter mile up the trail when the wind and snow picked up and was coming at us horizontally. The video shows the Mountain Ash and snow covered firs blowing around.
At that point it was just 1:00 when the storm was picking up as predicted and we were hungry. We hiked back to the car and drove down the mountain a ways to Austin Pass, about 500 feel lower. This is where we had been just six weeks before in late August viewing the summer wild flowers because the road to Artist Point had not yet opened for the Summer.
After lunch in the car we ventured out a bit. As you can see there were more colors here and so far, not much snow accumulation. If you check out the Bucket from August, you will see some familiar terrain but with different colors.
Finally, here is a 360 degree video of the area that my son took as we were leaving. You’ll see me hurrying back to the trail head.
So, we got our fall trip to the mountain and saw some of the glorious colors just in the nick of time. Since I do not ski any longer, I won’t return to the mountain until next summer. Stay tuned for 2021 show.
What colors are showing in your neighborhood?