Silverhair Folgen
Prämie:
■hilfsbereit
■Journalist
■Karma:570
■Entfernung:333km
■Höhenunterschied:7509m
■Postings:44
■Follower:4
Chain Lakes Loop
05.10.2018
It was a cloudy drizzly morning and we weren't sure what to expect up on Mt. Baker. Stopped off at the ranger station in Glacier, a good move as we learned the road up was good and the Chain Lakes trail would give better views than Ptarmigan Ridge.
This is another one of those bejeweled Mt. Baker hikes located on the Mt. Baker Highway (hwy 542). A $5 US parking pass can be purchased at the ranger station kiosk and the biffy there is a good one, always open even if the ranger station is not.
It has 3 starting points - up top at Artist Point, a middle spot below at Austin Pass, and the Bagley Lakes parking lot below that. To further compound your choices, you can go clockwise or counterclockwise. We decided to tackle the counterclockwise route up Herman's Saddle so parked at the Bagley Lakes lot. It was cold and windy as we layered up and headed off. Beautiful fall colors were everywhere and the rainy misty atmosphere felt very Lord of the Ringish. The trek up through the talus to the saddle looked very daunting but the switchbacks were really good. We took our time, peeling off some layers as we went. I absolutely loved the talus trek, very rewarding. There was a fine dusting of snow off trail at the top but the trail itself was snow & ice free and the views below us on both sides were really lovely.
We headed down to Iceberg Lake and it was way bigger than I expected. It would be fun to see it when the bergs are floating by but that time had past. We continued on to Hayes Lake where we took a breather and had some lunch. Tucked away in the bushes there is an outdoor open biffy with a nice view of Iceberg Lake. Continuing on we came across some Amanita muscaria mushrooms (also known as the fly agaric, toadstool mushroom of gnome fame). Please don't pick or knock these over, they should be good for a few days yet and are so neat to see. The trail was muddy and slick in spots past Hayes Lake and I fell on my butt once. Lived to see another day.
You'll soon come to the paired Mazama Lakes and then have a bit more climbing up, again through some talus, but no big effort required. Once over this you'll arrive at the junction to the Ptarmigan Ridge trail. We didn't see any goats on route and thought they must be lazing about further along on the Ptarmigan trail. Turning left we walked on to the Artist Point parking lot. The Wild Goose trail down completes the loop and is located to the right of the washrooms. Unmarked initially, it crosses the road and then you will see proper rock cairns with little goose plaques. The trail down is quite steep, no switchbacking here. It apparently can get icy so we brought microspikes along but didn't need them this trip.
What else? No need to pack tons of water if you have a filterable water bottle, lots of streams and of course lakes along the way. Total trip time for us was 6 hours, slowpokes that we are. I would choose this route again, don't relish the thought of going clockwise and trudging up the Wild Goose trail. Don't know what the trail will be like after today's rain but there are some sunny days coming up. I imagine the trail will be like our experience, perhaps even more vibrant in the sun. On a clear day Mts. Baker and Shuksan will knock your socks off!
156 x gelesen
Bagley Lakes
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Alouette Lake Trail
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