[yew]

Ptarmigan Ridge to Coleman Pinnacle out of Artist Point, Mt Baker Wilderness, Oct. 4th This is a popular hike for good reason - the alpine scenery is beautiful. I've been saving this hike for a weekday after Labor Day after the crowds subside. I also wanted to do this hike so I could collect GPS waypoints for future ski touring trip. Back in March, "Mtnmitch" and I got turned around pretty good in a whiteout around Artist Point. I skied off a cornice and dropped down about 5 feet into snow up to my waist because I could not see 2 feet in front of me. GPS waypoints would've come in very handy during that incident. It looks harder to ski that I expected. Putz-in-Boots et al. skied it back in May. I saw about 5 other hikers or groups the whole day. There's a side trail over to the glacial tarn 14-Goat Lake. Must return to hike over to these lakes. I get a big kick out of recently deglaciated land, interesting to see primary succession. The book "After the Ice Age: The Return of Life to Glaciated North America." by E.C. Pielou is a good book if you're into that kind of thing.

Saw a large covey of tame ptarmigans right all around the trail that a guy studying them was trying to observe. My bird dog took a dive at them but I got my hand around his collar like Homer Simpson choking Bart ("Why you little...!!). Very embarrasing and wrong. My wife said the dogs ignored the ptarmigan before. They were still there when we came back through so I guess we did not disturb them that much.

I suspect we hiked beyond Coleman Pinnacle as listed on the Green Trails map and Manning & Spring's guidebook. We just kept going to the west end of a narrow ridge until we could go no further without wings or a jetpack. It was quite airy and exposed at the end of this ridge which is east of The Portals.

There are crags of jagged black lava rock below that you could get impaled on if you fell. Falling and smashing on to Sholes Glacier below would dramatic as well. Be careful up here! There's too much trampling up on the top of this ridge. The weather was pretty much perfect. It's gotta' come to an end soon. When will the rainy season begin? This hike was not that steep but longer than expected. It must've been a good workout since I was hungry when I got home and ate 2 piece of my wife's leftover smoked salmon pizza from The North Fork.

[Sabahsboy]

What a feast for the yes! And, the bonus x-c photos! Super! Glad you got to do each of these adventures. How did the dogs hold up? My pups poop out at 5 miles or so...and takes a little coaxing at 8 miles; they drop at 9 and beg I leave them to rest; at 10 miles they simply drop beside the truck and wait until I invite them into the comfy pickup for the ride back to civilization and a long 24 hours of R & R. Of course, I am the curse of the bainful lives and off we go the next day on a shorter trek, "Are you crazy?" They ask me. They don't take a treat as an answer. But once in the forest or meadow, there is excitement enough to live another day in the wilds of canine wonderland.