Lake Ann Hike

To finish off the 2012 hiking season Julie I had hoped to do the one day Enchantments hike, but found part of the trail was closed due to forest fires. In its place we went Lake Ann which was much easier, but still filled with stunning fall color views. After a long drive to the Mount Baker ski area we started on the trail head just below Artist Point. Unlike most hikes we went down first into a basin and then hiked back up to the ridge that led to Lake Ann. While in the basin we could hear the continuous squeaks from pikas in the area. Once we made it to the ridge it was only a short hike down to Lake Ann. More impressive than the lake was a close up view of Mount Shuksan and it's glaciers. We decided to take a side trip to get a closer view of Shuksan. After a while the side trail got a bit dicey to traverse along. Julie only had hiking shoes and attempted a safer path, but got stuck further on. I was able to go further and get within 100 yards of the Lower Curtis Glacier which was quite impressive. We headed back to lake and spend a brief time taking in the great view of Shuksan and its reflection. As the day was short we soon had to head back to the car. This was yet another spectacular fall hike and was well worth the long drive.