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ICEBERG LAKE
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Iceberg Lake [518 Kb]
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Iceberg Lake is one of several small alpine lakes located near the Mount Baker
ski area. In all the decades of hiking the many trails in the North Fork Nooksack area,
it wasn't until the fall colours of September 29 in 2010 that I tried the
hike to Iceberg Lake.
I began the hike, which is best done as a loop, at Artist Point,
heading in the direction of Ptarmigan Ridge where I have hiked
many times before.
Mount Baker dominates the views here, and one can also see down to
Baker Lake to the south. At the far side of Table Mountain,
the Iceberg Lake Trail departs the Ptarmigan Ridge Trail
and descends to Mazama Lake, which marks the furthest point I had previously
explored in this direction.
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Mount Baker [190 Kb]
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Just a few hundred metres beyond Mazama Lake is Iceberg Lake,
where I settled in for lunch. The Whiskey Jacks unfortunately also had a keen interest in
my lunch, so I had to keep moving around in order to keep most of it for myself.
There are nice views down to Hayes Lake as the trail wraps around
the north side of Iceberg Lake and begins its ascent to the col
between Mazama Dome and Table Mountain.
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Mount Shuksan [214 Kb]
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From the col, where Mount Shuksan now takes over the view, the trail
descends through scree and meadows as it makes its way down to Bagley Lakes.
The trail rejoins the road at the Heather Meadows Visitor Center,
situated on a rock ledge overlooking
Bagley Lakes. The Heather Meadows Visitor Center was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps
(CCC) in 1940, originally as a ski warming hut. From here, the recently built Wild Goose Trail
completes the loop without necessitating a road walk as it ascends back to Artist Point.
The Heather Meadows Visitor Center would
probably be the better place to start and end the loop, since the less scenic ascent to
Artist Point could be done at the beginning of the day rather than the end.
Other stuff:
Panoramic pictures
Other pictures
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