Standing atop Mt Constitution, the highest point in the San Juan Islands, the wind whips around me tugging at my clothes. It’s a cold wind. I pull my hood tighter around my face then jam my hands depply into my pockets; my camera hangs on a strap from around my neck.

I face east waiting for sunset. The sun, setting behind me, will hopefully light the clouds clinging to the Cascade Range to a vibrancy of the last remnants of an autumn day. The clouds are stock-piled along the mountains – scoops of atmosphere reminiscent of scoops of ice cream piled together in a sundae cup. They move with the wind jostling for position along the horizon at times exposing peaks then in a moment covering them again.

My eyes wander over the scene to the islands lying in Rosario Strait between Orcas Island and Bellingham. They rest in the shade of Mt Constitution as the shadow from the mountain stretches across the strait. The water gradually becomes a dull silver in the growing darkness.

The slow descent of the sun has quickened as it heads towards the horizon to the west.

The clouds across the Cascades begin to shift in color from white to a hint of yellow.

I shift my weight on my foot, rocking back and forth trying to stay warm. I adjust my hood so it’s covers more of my head and neck. Keeping my eyes on the scene in front of me, I rub my hands together then jam them once again deep into my pockets. The clouds have parted slightly around Mt Baker and I become fixated on the photographic possibilities.

Snow had recently fallen on Mt Baker, coating her slopes white. A smile broadens my cheeks.

Color in the clouds shift further as the sun sinks below the horizon – from a soft yellow to a muted grey. Then almost magically they become pink puffs of cotton candy clinging to the slopes of Mt Baker.

This is my scene.

This was worth the wait in blowing autumn wind with a winter chill.

Heidi's Hotspots: Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest: Artist's Point/Heather Meadows

I absolutely love going to the Mt Baker area. The south side of the mountain a great lake for boating and trails to explore. The north side has a premier ski area, great hiking and stunning views of Mt Baker and Mt Shuksan. This northern side of the mountain is the Heather Meadows/Artist Point area.

Follow State Highway 542 (Mt Baker Highway/Scenic Byway) from Bellingham through farming country and forest. There are several picturesque spots and detours along the way, but your true destination is nearer the end of the road.

In the winter, the road is closed at the ski area but if you are a skier, boarder or snowshoer that is far enough. Winters here are the best with thick snow, lots of slopes and fun ridges. The record snowfall for one season in North America was measured here during the 1998-1999 ski season at 1,140 inches of 95 feet. If snow is what you're looking for, here you will find it. Do take warning though that traveling in the backcountry during winter takes extra precautions on your part. There are many classes teaching you about snow safety and avalanche safety and I highly recommend taking them before venturing beyond the ski area.

Spring and summer comes slowly to Heather Meadows and even more slowly to Artist's Point beyond. There are years that the road to Artist's Point never melts out. But the years it does means there's a spectacle of close views of two extraordinary mountains. Called Koma Kulshan (White Mountain) by the Native Americans in the area, Mt Baker to the southwest is a volcano covered in snow and glaciers all years round. Mt Shuksan to the southeast can claim to be the most photographed peak in North America. And it's easy to see why with its craggy textures and glaciers.

Large groups of photographers gather at Picture Lake just below Heather Meadows to photograph Mt Shuksan in the evening light. You may need to elbow your way into a viewing area. But it's well worth the effort. Higher up on Artist's Point are the best vantage points for Mt Baker in the morning or evening light. Flowers sparkle in the meadows and along the trails. Wildlife can be shy around here, but keep on a lookout for ptarmigan as they frequents the area enough to have a ridge named after the birds.

Life seems to slow down a bit in the autumn on the mountain as the crowds disperse. However fall hiking here is often rewarded with an abundance of ripe blueberries and huckleberries. Some days I come off the trail with juice stained hands. The other benefit of berry bushes are the vibrant colors of the leaves as they begin to turn color. Deep oranges and reds line the meadows and trails for dramatic effect.

With all the fun photo and adventure opportunities near Heather Meadows and Artist's Point, it's easy to see how a person can spend a year here and never be bored.

Last Snowshoe of the Season

Mt Baker NRA, 3/10/09, 5.5 miles, 1600 elevation

The snows are hanging around in the mountains a little longer this year . Even though, snowshoeing opportunities had been getting smaller. Spring snow is just sloppy and not much fun. But Mt Baker is a winter wonderland into July so a trek through Heather Meadows on the north side of the mountain to Artist's Point would be a perfect destination for us and our friends Heather & Dave. One last snowshoe before the spring thaws melt all the snow.

For several years, Michael & I had been attempting to make it to Artist's Pint by snowshoe, but had been turned around for one reason or another every time. We hoped that we'd be able to make it with Heather & Dave. We had all day and the enjoyment of good friends buoyed us all up the hill to Pan Dome - the height of the sky resorts - for a lunch under the eye of Mt Shucksan.

Our afternoon was spent retracing our steps to the trail junction with Artist's Point. With another climb up to Artist's Point for the beauty of Mt Baker. As a child I always though Mt Baker was a national park just like Mt Rainier, now as an adult, I wonder how this beauty ever got passed over for national park status. I always love looking at this mountain from every side.

We finished off our day at Milano's in Glacier - some of the best Italian around.

Now the snowshoes are hung to dry and the hiking boots are set by the door.

Playing in Snow

Heather Meadows 1/21/07

If you ever ask me where my favorite place to snowshoe or hike is I usually answer quickly with the last place I adventured. I will expound on how wonderful the scenery/flora/trail was and recommend to whoever is listening that they have got to go. One stalwart holdout that brings me back any season is Mt Baker. Whether I’m kayaking on Baker Lake, hiking up the valleys, snowshoeing the meadows, or sitting in awe at Artist’s Point I’m always happy when I return and will often start planning another trip up.

This weekend, after several weeks of watching the mountains gather winter coats, friends & I threw out snowshoes in the back of the Subaru and drove off to Heather Meadows on the northwest side of Mt Baker. Heather Meadows is fabulous any time of year: spring and summer wildflowers dot the landscape, autumn burnishes the blueberry leaves, winter is thick with snow piled high. The forest leases out ski slopes in the area and there is quite a bit of groomed and backcountry terrain reached with chairlifts. There are also other slopes in the area accessible only by the hearty few who will climb with their skis and shush back down again. The meadows and valleys are perfect for cross-country skiers and snowshoers.

For several years, I had been trying to reach Artist’s Point from Heather Meadows and had convinced my friends that this would be a good destination for us. However, after only a half hour, we realized that not only was the snow extremely powdery (and hindering our momentum) but the wind was torturous. Each blast picked up tiny snow crystal from the surface and splashed it into our faces, feeling as if our faces were stabbed by a series of tiny pins. We finally took refuge underneath the boarded up visitor’s center in the meadows, had lunch and planned out the rest of our afternoon.

Our best bet would be to make our way into the valley holding Bagley Lakes – frozen over for winter and covered with snow. I had hiked around the lakes several times and am often intrigued by their utter disappearance during the winter. Where ferns and flowers grow during the summer only smooth snow banks exist after the first heavy snowfall. Even the shed-sized boulder where boys full of adventure jump into the lake is camouflaged as drifted snow. Here we were, our little band of friends, looking over the edge of the hill to the valley bottom and hidden lakes below trying to find the safest route to windless freedom, but the illusions of snow can be disastrous. One wrong step and we could be sliding out for control or even worse, start a small avalanche.

The slope seemed sturdy enough, so Grant started a traversing descent on our first steep incline. Kristi, Christine & I all had a different idea. The snow was soft, we had thick layers on and the slope looked too sweet to pass up. We stood side by side at the edge of the hill, sat down, and pushed off. If you haven’t got a sled, the next best thing is your own rump. But, the snow was soft and within a few yards, our butts were deep in snow with snow pile between our legs. We weren’t going any further. Nor did it seem were we getting up without a struggle. Giggling, twisting, turning, pushing and finally just rolling over, we got on our feet to walk and run the rest of the way to Grant. The next hill wouldn’t be as steep for us, so we just ran down the hill, at times sinking to our knees, if not face-planting. It took us some time to re-group (stop giggling) and shake out the more excess snow from our clothes. During this exercise, a group of free-heelers met up with us and we chatted about their sport and their dogs as they waited for a few friends. We soon met up with our car, finished shaking out the excess snow, and discussed how we need to get back out real soon and maybe next time, make it all the way to Artist’s Point.

Anderson Lakes

During a retreat to Baker Lake, a friend & I decided to hike the Watson/Anderson Lakes trail on the south side of the Lake across the dam. Our drive up to the trail head went past several lookouts that if the sky was clear would have given us a fabulous view of sunrise on Mt Baker. We also passed several patches of snow along the road, evidence that just a few days before winter had remind us that she is returning.

The trail meandered through the woods and slowly wove its way up the hill. The colors of the leaves had started to yellow, nowhere near the vibrant green seen earlier in the spring. large mushroom peered out from beneath the yellowing foliage. I need to work on mushroom identification. There seemed to be several varieties but I have no idea what they were.

It wasn't too long before the trail opened out to a meadow and we passed the junction to Anderson Butte. Here we found blueberries, sweet & juicy. Who needs GORP when you've got blueberries? At this point, R.L. and I debated what blueberries n the wild taste like. He's often heard the taste described as woodsy. What does woodsy taste like? As we reached the pass, Mt Baker came out from behind the clouds to wink us a good morning. We rested there a while waiting for the sun to light up the foreground for a more picturesque scene. But the sun wasn't rising quite fast enough and was also being periodically obscured by clouds.

We continued on down the other side of the pass to the junction with Watson Lakes & Anderson Lakes. Here we had to make a decision - Watson or Anderson? I hadn't been to either lake, but R.L. had been to Watson Lakes a couple of times, so it was off to Anderson Lakes for us this morning. Anderson Lakes are smaller than Watson Lakes but we were undisturbed as we explored the shoreline for fall color. We didn't have far to go and we were soon on the ground taking pictures of heather, blueberries and fungus.

On our way out, we came across leaders for the WTA trails crew who had been working on building stairs and raised trails through one of the meadows. They had sent their crew home after waking up earlier in the week to two inches of snow. We discussed their work with them then watched as their llama team came to pack out their supplies. The temperature dropped a little as clouds once again obscured the sun. After we left the WTA crew and their llamas, it wasn't very long before wee reached the trail head and found hot lunch waiting for us back at the lodge.