Artist Point - Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

[4Feet]: Last time seeing Mount Baker was back to Skyline Divide in early November last year. At that time, we slept through the coldest night with an outside temperature of 15 degrees. Today we were back to the Mt. Baker national forest to have a close look at not only Mount Baker but also Mount Shuksan. During the snow season, most of the trails in this area remain closed due to unmaintained roads. The only place open for outdoor activity is Mt. Bake Ski Area, and Artist Point happens to be alongside it. Artist Point is a 4-mile roundtrip snowshoe with about 1,000’ elevation gain, where is known for the world record amount of snowfall (almost 100 feet of snow) within a season. The distance and elevation in this hike were considered moderate, yet it did not mean there was no potential danger. There were a few of the steepest terrain and the more dangerous avalanche slopes can be noticed on this route. The designed trail was mostly buried under thick snow in the winter session, the hikers really need to be precautional on the direction and potential hazard. After 90-minutes of the hike, we reached the endpoint of the Artist Point Trail, where was located right between Mount Shuksan and Mount Baker. When facing south, Baker Lake was found in the center of view about 3 miles away. while slowly moving the viewpoint to the far vicinity, Mount Rainier was majestically guarding the horizon of the southern border. Unfortunately, today clouds stayed low and covered all of the mountain peaks in the Cascades. We spent about an hour on the endpoint to wait for a clear sky, so that we may take a close-up photo of Shuksan and Baker. Well, it did not happen. The amount of time we took for the descent was usually about one-half to two-thirds of the time for the ascent. However, for the hike today, it was a different ball game. It also took us 90 good minutes to hike back to the trailhead. The snow and ice on the surface melt and were no longer condensed. Without snowshoes, every single step of ours sank in deeply. Therefore, we had to lift our thighs and knees high for each step even though we were actually walking on the flat. All of a sudden our descent became another ascent. We felt like we had consumed more energy on the way back. After all, it was a decent workout. We were able to see the peaks of Mt. Bake and Mt. Shuksan for a short period of time in this hike. The amount of snow was definitely significant and beautiful. At the same time, it was low-key. The white color from Baker still sent me a feeling of stillness, somehow calming and soothing. 4/2/21