Heather Meadows and Artist Point

August 6, 2006
One of my favorite trips is along the Mount Baker Highway to Heather Meadows and Artist Point. The road to the top is usually open only two or three months a year. It opened a week or two ago so off we went.


Here are twelve pictures, and if you hold the mouse over the picture, you will see a very short description of it.

 
Mount Shuksan seen across Picture Lake. This is one of the most photographed mountains in the world.
 
 
Mount Shuksan reflected in Picture Lake. A light breeze today played havoc with the reflections.
 
 
A spotted Sandpiper (what a surprise!) decoying me away from her nest. In the past, I've only seen sandpipers at the seashore, so it was amazing to find one up on top of a mountain.
 
 
The twisty road heading up towards Artist Point, with Table Rock in the background. This area is known as Austin Pass, and the parking lot on the lower right is near our lunch spot.
 
 
Gorgeous Mount Baker. I tried in vain to spot some Mountain Goats, as another hiker told me he'd seen a lot on the slopes earlier in the week, but no luck.
 
 
There are many hiking trails but today we stuck to the short one along the ridge, as we weren't prepared for a tougher hike. Artist Point is one of my favorite places in Washington.
 
 
We walked across a lot of snow, and not once did we sink down.
 
 
Looking along a valley towards Mount Shuksan. The path winds along just outside the picture on the right. There were many hikers enjoying the scenery today.
 
 
The snow is melting quickly on the slopes and meadows. Next time, I hope to walk along the trail which bisects the hill on the right.
 
 
Tim at work. He spends a lot more time setting up his pictures than I do and it shows. He's very patient.
 
 
Whee! Look how much snow was around the parking lot.
 
 
On the way home, we stopped to look at the Twin Sisters with Mount Baker peeking over their shoulder.
 

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