Washington is a small state except when you have to drive across it. From where we live it's about three hours north or south to a border. It's four hours west to the ocean and five hours east to Idaho. So it shouldn't be a surprise that we tend to stay relatively local for our adventures. But if there's something really special, we'll make the drive.
Special as in "epic". Not necessarily the effort, but certainly the place. Kulshan (or "Mt. Baker") should be in a National Park. And it almost is. You can see landmarks in North Cascades National Park from the area around Kulshan. Oh, but it isn't in the Park because politics demanded a concession when the Park was being created. Hmph. It is, however, in the Mount Baker Wilderness so it's protected. Good enough, I guess.
Anyway, we rolled into the Artist Point Trailhead at close to 9a. I know, I know. We usually start WAY earlier, but you try getting out the door earlier. As it was, we left the house a little before 6a. Thank goodness for Starbucks. Due to our late start there were TONS of people on the trail.
Now you know I love to see people getting outside. The more people love the outdoors the more people will protect the outdoors. The problem on this day was the large groups (16+) of people on the narrow trail and their general lack of awareness. They'd stop as a group and block the trail. They didn't yield to those with a right of way and they certainly didn't recognize when their more relaxed pace was affecting others. (And the fact their group was too big for the Wilderness? Pfft.)
The larger groups turned off after about a mile so after minimal crowding we found ourselves on a lonely trail. Well, except the pika. Twas a good day hunting! We bagged five different pika and had shots at many more, but sometimes they're just too quick.
We climbed through fall and into winter. The snow was never really deep, but provided a nice contrast with the red of huckleberry leaves and the blue of the sky. Above Camp Kiser, it was full winter with snow and ice on the trail and a dearth of pika. We did fine without traction, but saw lots of folks that weren't so lucky.
We ended our hike on The Portals East. It's just an outcropping of rock rising above the the Sholes Glacier, but provided amazing views in every direction. It's a lot like Third Burroughs in Mountain Rainier National Park in that there's little between you and the mountain.
Speaking of hiking on Tahoma, one of the bummers is you generally have to turn your back on the Mountain at some point. While that was the same here, Mt. Shuksan provided a worthy substitute. It's not volcanic so it lacked the distinctive cone shape of the big mountains in Washington. Instead, it's full of sharp cliffs and towers created by the patient glaciers on its flanks.
There are more than a couple other spots on this route I want to explore. There's a lake south of Coleman Pinnacle that looks ideal of camping and the Chain Lakes Loop is definitely on the list. Of course, so is Shuksan and a bundle of other trails in North Cascades National Park. So many adventures; so little time.
