The Artists Point trail on Mount Baker is a beautiful, fairly easy snowshoe hike to nice views of the North Cascades. The trip starts in the ski area at 4000'. Follow the west edge of the ski area uphill, and after 500' elevation gain you'll see a "Backcountry Warning" sign, which means you've reached Austin Pass. Read & heed the sign, because you are crossing into North Cascades wilderness in winter, and the weather can change suddenly and drastically here. Our first attempt (below) was abandoned when we ran into a major winter storm.
This day, however, the weather was with us, partly sunny with high clouds, an increasing chance of snow by evening. At Austin Pass, we followed the tracks of about 40 other snowshoers and numerous backcountry skiers. Yes, this is wilderness, but don't expext solitude on this popular hike. If you do find it empty during ski season, there's probably a reason. Be sure to inquire locally about avalanche conditions. We followed a couple long switchbacks, sticking to the edge of the tree line to minimize avalanche danger.
The view was lovely from the top at artists point, although increasing and lowering clouds obscured views of Baker and Mount Shuksan. After about an hour and a half, we noticed we were the only ones still up there (uh oh) and the clouds lowered, it started snowing and visibility went down to about 300 feet (oh no!). This illustrates why following snowshoe prints may get you somewhere, but won't always get you back. A map, compass and knowledge to use them are essential. A gps helps too, especially when visability is reduced. Ours had a tracking feature, a black line that traces your route. Just don't deviate as you head back and you'll end up where you started.
This is a great trail even for winter novices like us (only our 3rr snowshoe), as long as you do your homework and respect the mountain. In summer, it's also a great access route to Ptarmigan Ridge at the edge of Kulshan's glaciers, a hike I hope to post here later this summer.
