My husband and I did an out and back from Artists Point. Iceberg Lake and a geocache were our goals. This meant that we experienced some advantages. We saw the same beauty twice, though from different angles, and different light.
We got a rather late start, 12:30 pm. When walking along the Ptarmigan Ridge Trail to the intersection of Chain Lakes Trail, a person might think it couldn't possible be as beautiful along the Chain Lakes Trail. They would be wrong.
There are trails that there is a wonderful pay-off views making the rest of the hike worthwhile. This trail is not one of those. The Ptarmigan and Chain Lake Trails and sights are full of superlatives. There is a continuous "Wow" factor.
We found a few blueberries, and a few wildflowers. The real "stars" this time were the Fall colors.
At 12:30 the parking lot was jammed, but we found a parking spot easily enough. Even so, the trail did not seem crowded. Everyone was very polite about giving way or making the offer if needed. We saw hikers with dogs, and /or small children. We saw hikers wearing flip-flops and tennis shoes. We saw one hiker carrying a pair of backcountry skis. We saw a lot of Senior hikers, like us. After Iceberg Lake, we would have liked to hike towards Herman's Pass for the views back down to Iceberg Lake but due to some health concerns, we headed back up the trail. It took us MUCH more time because of having to rest frequently. We encountered especially kind people who were on their way to camping spots along the loop. Coming back up the hill from Mazama Lakes, some people could see that I was having some difficulties, and offered water, and in one case, water and a power bar. We also encountered kind people. Coming back up the hill from Mazama Lakes, some people could see that I was having some difficulties, and offered water, and in one case, water and a power bar. (We had thought we had brought along more than enough water, but it became clear we had not.)
There were advantages to arriving back to Artists Point at the time we did, 7:30pm. As we walked back the Ptarmigan Ridge Trail, the colors on Mount Shuksan, etc were fabulous.
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