Alpenglowshoe

It was a nice balmy 15F degree day at the Mount Baker Ski resort with very few people to contend with. The weather forecast showed clear skies and the sunset was going to be spectacular. A few weeks of heavy snows followed by a few more days of freezing temps made the snow great for all the newly unshackled college kids to shred and left the hiking trails wide open for a pretty sick me to tackle without infecting anyone. I left for Artist Point with the idea that maybe the freezing cold would make me forget that I'd had a headache and somewhat sore throat all week, and boy was it working well! When I got there around 2:30 pm, the sun was still shining bright in the sky, but after marvelling my way up the snow and past the greenish cabin, shadows were getting longer - it was only a matter of time until it disappeared behind that slumbering giant, Mt. Baker. And when it finally did, it was something to behold. A truly breathtaking show of every warm color, reflected off the white canvases of Mt Shuksan and the rest of the North Cascades. I stopped to take dozens of pictures, but after a while, my fingers went through the usual winter transition from painful to numb. Raynaud's is a bitch.

Then I packed it up and left because I like my fingers where they are, attached to my body. Will return.

Summary: Route = follow the snow-covered road and many skin tracks up to a safe, relatively flat terrain. Use a map and compass if needed. Explore at will and be weary of avy condition if going OOB.