Huntoon Point Snowshoe — Monday, Mar. 27, 2023

We drove up to Heather Meadows parking lot on a Monday morning for a day of snowshoeing in the gorgeous subalpine above the Mount Baker ski area.  The road was clear and dry all the way and the parking lot had only a few snowy patches remaining.  Any car could easily make the trip, but remember that you have to carry chains until April 1.

It was a perfect day for a snowshoe: sunny and not too cold, with little wind.  We snowshoed up to Huntoon Point for lunch and enjoyed the gorgeous views of Mount Shuskan in one direction and Mount Baker in the other (see photos).  Then we cruised over to the shoulder of Table Mountain for good views over the Bagley Lakes Basin to the northwest and out along Ptarmigan Ridge to the southwest.  Heading back, we angled down past the Heather Meadows hut to lower Bagley Lake and back to the parking lot. 

The sun shone all day, but the temperature remained cool enough (high 30’s) to keep the snow from softening.  The snowshoe tracks had been beaten down by weekend traffic and were easy to follow and firm.  For much of the way, micro-spikes might have been a better option than snowshoes, but we had left ours in the car.  Off the track, the snow was deep and heavy (but not wet), and snowshoes were definitely needed.  Avalanches had come down on the slopes of Table Mountain, Mount Herman, Slate Peak and Mount Shuksan.  However, there were no signs of avalanches near where we were snowshoeing, except on the high slope near the top to Table Mountain, just above the shoulder where we turned around. 

We met or saw from a distance several other groups of snowshoers and a few folks on skis or split boards, but the area was less busy than we have seen it in a long time.  Most of the time, we were far enough away from other people to feel alone in the winter landscape, a rare treat so close to the ski area.