Wolf Moon Snowshoe to Artist Point

It has become somewhat of an annual tradition to snowshoe to Artist Point with friends on a winter full moon. Thanks to friend Dean for organizing the trip, which went up last Saturday.  I'd say about 15 of us made the trip this year, and a good time was had by all.

This year was marked by warm temperatures and far less snowpack than typical. When we started out, at dusk, I would guess the temperature was 40 degrees, with limited wind. This is unusual, as typically it is around 20 to 25, with wind making it seem far colder up on the Point.  The trip wasn't particularly challenging physically, at roughly 4 miles, and the snowpack was such that some wore microspikes and boots while others opted to crack out the snowshoes.

We made it all the way up to Huntoon Point.  No one camped, though a few campers were out there. The evening started up with cloudy skies, but the clouds broke, and we were able to see the milky way and a full sky of stars and planets, with the mountains silhouettes of Shuskan and Baker in the distance.

Chair 9 for pizza afterwards.  An epic Seahawk win over the 49ers the next day.  Placing last weekend in the Win column.

Artist Point Snowshoe

My friend Dean organized a snowshoe trip up to Artist Point on Saturday afternoon, which I was glad to take part in.  Artist Point is accessed by going to Heather Meadows at Mount Baker, and hiking about a 1000 feet up, and through a bit of backcountry. It's not all that difficult, but it is backcountry, and so it is best to bring some snow smarts.

We've done this trip on a near annual basis for several years now, typically timing it on the full moon cycle. The full moon reflected on Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan, with all the stars in the sky, is really something to see. It was raining down below, but we trusted the favorable forecasts, and indeed, it cleared up on top. We were there for the sunset, which produced some spectacular violet hues against the snow covered peaks.

My phone camera provides only a limited sense of this true winter wonderland. I think I was most impressed by the heavy snow on the wind blown trees up on the Point. At times, these trees took almost human or gargoyle shape, leaning from the weight of the snow. The fact that any life persists in such conditions is amazing.

I think in all we had a group of about 14 persons. A brave minority even set up tents and stayed the night. Bravo! Most like I though went up, and then came down for dinner at Chair 9 in Glacier. Staying wasn't an option for me, because I had to be back in town for a special birthday event in the evening. However, I will note that it was very cold up top. I'm guessing it was about 5 degrees on Artist Point, and then 20 degrees only a few 100 meters lower.

A great group and trip--highly recommended. Thank you Dean!

Full Moon Snowshoe Hike at Mount Baker

I've gotten into the habit of watching the full moon calendar during the winter. When the skies are clear, there's no better place locally to enjoy a full moon and the night sky then up on Mt. Baker. It's quite simply a world class outdoor experience. Tuesday night looked promising. Emails, telephone calls and smoke signals followed; by noon, the message came through:
Houston, we are a go.
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I left work in Bellingham at 4 PM, met up with Dean and the rest of his fun-loving friends at Maple Falls, and we began our snowshoe hike around sunset out of the Mt. Baker ski area. We pretty much had things to ourselves. We made the top of the ridge right as the moon rose--that's the picture above. The pics here are copyright Scott T./Skagit Herald--pretty nice to have a professional photographer on the hike. And good company at that. It was so cold though that Scott's camera batteries froze. Vince R. came as well, to write the story, and he does a better job than I of telling the tale, and so feel free to fast forward to the link below. There's even a video clip. Our little full moon adventure made the front page of the Herald on Thursday--nice!
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For my faithful blog follower(s), my bonus track comments are 1.) it was 5 degrees, and very very very very cold; 2.) full moon rise on snow canyon makes for an amazing ethereal pink glow--this is my first chance to legitmately drop the word "ethereal" in quite some time--it's a good word, and the pink glow seemed from another world; and 3.) I forgot my pants, my headlamp, my gloves, and food. Also, my ski poles were useless, because they were too long. But my new snowshoes are pretty cool--they have a heel elevator which is real nice for sharp inclines. Also, there were a couple nuts doing some rock climbing on Table Mountain with headlamps--kind of cool. As one friend said, just when you thought you'd seen it all as far as crazy goes, you see some fools night rock or ice climbing at 5 degrees. Life is good, and may it be long too.
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We'll probably do this one more time this winter, maybe under a New Moon. The pics below may look like they were taken in daylight, but if you look close, you can see spots in the sky, aka stars, novas, nebulae, planets, galaxies and other astronomical events. Cue Neil Young's Pochohantas (from Rust Never Sleeps), and dream of traveling across an unsettled America, clear skies night after night. If you want. I would. Or you could just read the story--

http://www.goskagit.com/home/article/recreation_snowshoeing_by_the_light_of_the_moon/

Moonnauts

Luna rising

Ring of Fire at Night aka Mt. Baker