Day Hike: Ptarmigan Ridge

Summary

A day of hiking with friends and the dog in the Mt Baker National Forest/Mt Baker Wilderness areas along the Ptarmigan Ridge Trail.  This was a non-technical hike that is very easy to do with a dog. This is generally an easy hike and does not have much elevation gain.  There are lots of places to backcountry camp with the dog, so I will certainly be revisiting on a future weekend.

Route Overview

Washington Trail Association Links:

• Ptarmigan Ridge
  • https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/ptarmigan-ridge

Appropriate Maps:

• National Geographic Maps:
  • Mt Baker, Boulder River Wilderness Area, Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest #826
    • This provided a good overview of the area/surrounding area.
• Green Trails Map:
  • Mount Baker Wilderness, Map 13SX *** Best Map for the Hike ***
    • This was the best map for this hike and area.  There is a lot more fidelity to the trail features and switchbacks.
    • Contours are much easier to see.

$16

Overall Difficulty:

I would say this is an easy trail throughout most of the sections.  If you go up the last 0.25-0.5mile it may be become moderate for some.  There is little elevation gain throughout the hike. Most of areas on Ptarmigan Ridge  are very rocky, so potential ankle twisters and less give on the knees could make this less desirable for some.  There is little to no tree coverage so if it is hot or sunny out you may want to pack appropriately and wear sunscreen. During the morning and evening hours, you will benefit from the shade cast by the ridges and peaks for various sections.

Gear Load-out:

This hiking trip was originally planned to be an overnighter but turned into a day hike. I carried my overnight loadout though since it would be good training and conditioning, especially since it would be a good distance hiked and lower elevation gain than I have been doing in weeks prior.

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Getting to the Trailhead:

From the Glacier Public Service Center, drive east along WA-542 for about 23.6 miles.  When you get to the Mt Baker Ski Area, continue on the road.  The road ends at the Artist Point parking lot.  The parking lot tends to fill up on the weekends and holidays so you might want to plan to get their early.

Google Maps Directions: Google Driving Directions From Glacier Public Service Area to Artist Point

Vehicle Clearance:

The main road (WA-542) is paved and maintained so any type of vehicle is sufficient to get to the trailhead.

Permits:

You only need a National Parks/Forest or Northwest National Forest Pass for this parking area. There are no backcountry permits needed to camp along the trail but be cognizant of the Wilderness rules for camping [reference here].

Cell Service:

You are likely to not have any cell service the entire time once you leave the Glacier, WA area.  You can get some cell service around the Mt Baker Ski facility but it is not guaranteed.  I use Google Fi so my service coverage may be different than your carrier.

Learn about Project Fi here:  Referral Link

Day Trip:

Pack Weight Start: Did Not Measure, est 20lbs. You certainly don’t need a large pack like I used if you are doing a day hike. Even with my overnight gear, my pack was very comfortable the entire hike. A very light day-pack with necessary water, snacks and warming layer would be perfectly sufficient for anyone.

Ptarmigan Ridge Trailhead to Chain Lakes Loop Split. 0hr 28min

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We started hiking around 0920.  From the trailhead to the Chain Lakes Loop Split is about 1.1 miles with about 100ft of elevation gain.  This is a relatively flat trail section that skirts along the south side of Table Mountain.  The trail is generally composed of dirt in some areas but mostly rock rubble.  It was a pretty quick, short hike to the split in the trail were you can either take a right to continue on the Chain Lakes Loop or take the left to continue on Ptarmigan Ridge Trail.

The day was quite busy already with other hiking groups on the trail.  There was at least one group every 100 ft during this section of trail. It was a holiday and a weekend so this is likely normal.

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Trail Split to Coleman Pinnacle area. 2hr 40 min (2hr 12min). 1300 cal.

At the trail split, continue heading south (left). This next part involved a few stream crossings as a result of snow melt but nothing major.  Pretty soon we arrived at the first small snow field.  This snow field was pretty easy  to ascend and there was plenty of foot trails to follow.  At the time we got to the snow, there were a couple of groups returning from their outings, which appeared to be an overnighter in the backcountry.

At the top of the snowfield you enter an meadow of huckleberry shrubs and some decent areas to camp overnight.  This was about the 1hour mark, which I noted for future camping opportunities.

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After passing the last patch of trees, we began traversing along the contour of the mountain side of Ptarmigan Ridge ( starting at the northern end).  Around this time, the marmots where giving ample whistle warnings to their fellow burrowers that there was indeed activity in the area and to be on the look out.  At least that was my impression of their morning calls.

As we came up to the first major look out area, the clouds had subsided around Mt Shuksan so we were able to get a great morning view looking eastward.

We continued along the trail heading south toward Coleman Pinnacle.  In the picture below you can see we had a spectacular view uninhibited by clouds at this point in the day.

Around 1120 we arrived at the area just below Coleman Pinnacle for a little bit of a break.  The trip so far seemed to go by pretty quickly with all the views along the way.  The first time I had done this hike was 3 years and 1 week ago with the same friends I was hiking with today.  This was the last hike my friends had taken me on before I had to head back to Virginia in 2015.  A very impressionable hike at the time and very refreshing this time as well.

Coleman Pinnacle area to Sholes Glacier. 3hr 22 min (42min). 2089 cal (789 cal difference).

Once break time was over, all the snacks and cameras were put away.  It was time to finish the last stretch of the hike.  So far the entire hike had been great to us.  The temperature was cool, with a slight breeze at times to make it quite brisk, and partly cloudy.  A comfortably cool hike, which seemed a little unusual given the time of year.  You couldn’t ask for a better day  to be out hiking.  I know this was much appreciated by Buddy Bear in his hiking pack.

As a side note, when you look at the Green Trails map (mentioned above), the trail ends just before you start ascending at the 6000ft mark, which is around the northern end of the Sholes Glacier. This is roughly 0.5-0.75 miles from the Coleman Pinnacle break area. On the National Geographic Map, the trail ends around the southwestern side of the Coleman Pinnacle area.  Regardless of either map, the trail is clearly visible (assuming the snow has melted out) and you can make it to The Portals-East, which is the significant land feature just east of The Portals (6940ft) on the Green Trails map (roughly 0.5-0.6miles).

About half way along the trail to the Sholes Glacier, I could feel the temperature warming up a little.  The ridgeline that is part of the Coleman Pinnacle just north of us was blocking the wind and was now more noticeable. When we got to the northern end of the Sholes Glacier we were able to get a great view looking west toward Cougar and Skyline Divide.

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As we started ascending further up, I could see pretty clearly where I had hiked over the past month at Church Mountain and Excelsior Pass just north/northwest of my position. When we got to the next patch of snow, Buddy was starting to show some signs of wanting to take a break.  As you can see in the picture below, he just plopped down to cool his underside.

As we pushed higher and higher, the rock surface became more of a scree with larger rocks scattered about.  There were a few areas were Buddy needed some assistance so he wouldn’t slide back .  There were also a couple incidents where we tried to make his way up but causes some rocks to tumble my way.  Luckily they weren’t big and I was close enough behind to avoid.  This was when I held onto his handle on the top of his hiking pack so I could have a little more control as well as to help him up the scree patches.

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Alas, we made it past the scree and large rock area.  Now just a gentle and quick stroll to The Portals-East are.  This is unfortunately when one of my friends had pointed out that Buddy was limping and had some blood around his right paw.  I quickly stopped to inspect.  The outer nail looked like it had cracked and split some, so the blood was likely from the wick. 

We were only about 01.-0.25 miles from the actual turnaround spot so this was enough for me to call it good on the hike since I knew we would have to hike the reverse all the way back to the car.  This would not be enjoyable if I had to carry the 80lbs dog.  So we stopped on the flat, rocky area to eat some food and drink water.  I gave the dog a portion of food so he could be good until dinner.

Things kind of worked out because as we got to where we stopped the clouds had moved in to obscure our up-close view of Mt Baker.  You can see the view below. Better luck next time!

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Sholes Glacier to Coleman Pinnacle area. 3hr 22 min (42min). 2089 cal (789 cal difference).

The trip back down the scree was a bit more of a cautious venture since I knew the dog might have issues because of his nail and possible paw. I led and held his harness handle to ensure he didn’t get overzealous, potentially worsening the situation.  During a couple of spots that he had struggle on the way up , I ended up lifting him and putting him down on a better area to mitigate any risks caused by making the jump on to the jagged and loose rocks.

Once we were back on more level ground, we picked up the pace.  He didn’t seem to be limping anymore, but I monitored him the rest of the way.  He seemed to be getting tired as well.  This was around the time I decided we likely weren’t going to make this the overnight trip I had originally planned with an additional 8miles on Labor Day.  Better to have him healthy for the next time than injure him further unnecessarily.

When we got back to the Coleman Pinnacle area, I decided I was going to zip down to the turquoise/blue lake we could see from the break area.  One of my friends decided they weren’t going and would hang out at the break area with the dog, while my other friend and I made the side-trip.

Coleman Pinnacle area side trip. 5hr 55 min (42min). 3694 cal (1605 cal difference).

We arrived back at the Coleman Pinnacle area around 1410.  After a quick break, we set off for the unnamed lake. The initial part of the trail had some loose rocks and a little bit of scree, which was a good thing the dog stayed behind. Since I wouldn’t be doing the 8miles the next day, adding the side trip was a good choice for getting some additional views and more distance on my feet.

There were lots of groups on this section but we quickly moved around them and got to the lake surprisingly fast.  At first we arrived to an area where people had been stopping, which was deceptive for how much further the lake actually was as you can see in the first picture.  The second picture provides a good view of the lake.  Surprisingly, there was a huge block of ice floating near the shore. The clouds had cleared up in the distance east of us so we could see the mountains between our position and Glacier Peak.  The views were quite peaceful and exciting.  To have the opportunity to enjoy all of this is something quite special. This is why I moved out here from Virginia.

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One the way back up to the Coleman Pinnacle Area, the clouds that were obscuring Mt Baker earlier had somewhat subsided for while. I was able to get some good views of the northern glaciers (Rainbow and Park Glaciers).  I think its quite interesting to think about the terrain just beneath the glaciers.  You can clearly see many many crevasses across the entire northern face of the mountain.  It almost seems unreal, especially the magnitude of it all.  Those crevasses are really huge and quite deep.

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Coleman Pinnacle area to Artist Point. 8hr 2 min (2hr 7min). 5023 cal (1329 cal difference).

Once we got back to the Coleman Pinnacle, we started back toward Artist Point to warp up the day of hiking…after a few more pictures.

On the walk back the we saw a couple more mountain goats off the trail, but they were far enough away that we weren’t able to get a good look at them.  They are always interesting to observe, especially in hard to get areas or really steep sketchy mountain sides.

We also stopped a in a few areas to sample the huckleberries within an arms reach from the trail.  They were quite good, though a couple of them were noticeably tart.  When we got back to the huckleberry meadow I pointed out previously, there were lots of hikers combing through the huckleberry shrubs before concluding their day.

The picture below was one of the elaborate cairn stacks along the trail.  This was just after the first snowfield at the start of the day, but the lighting and view during the late-afternoon looked much better as we were  before heading back to the trail split

Shortly after leaving the cairn stack, we arrived at the trail split that either took you on the Chain Lakes Loop or back to the Artist Point parking lot.  Just a little over a mile left. At this point there were so many people on the trail heading from the parking area, which was a little surprising for how late in the day it was, but certainly worthwhile view to be had before the setting of the sun.

As we got closer to the parking area, I was able to get one last picture of the pink-purple wildfire flowers amidst the mountainous backdrop.  Another great ending to a great day hiking with my Buddy and friends.  I will certainly be coming back and much sooner than another 3 years.

Trip Metrics

Total Mileage: ~11.9 miles

Total Elevation: ~2836ft

Start Time: ~0917

Finish Time: ~1720 (8hr 2min)

Est Calories: 5023