extended table mountain circumnav (summer edition) | ptarmigan ridge backpacking via chain lakes loop

15.5 miles . 3600 ft gain . 5950 ft high

Mount Baker Wilderness

I call this summer edition because I did nearly the same exact loop in the winter last season where I called it the Extended Table Mountain Circumnavigation but on skis. After a hiatus from backpacking this summer, I was ready for a slow reintroduction before the fall season approached. Something chill enough that both had exciting views. Hannah first suggested this trip and I couldn’t turn it down! She’d been intrigued by camping at Goat Lake along the Ptarmigan Ridge for a while now after a friend visited a couple years ago. Little did we know how popular it’s gotten since. I waffled about sharing this trip, but seeing that the trail and camping area was on gravel terrain, I felt it reasonable to sustain high traffic, per Leave No Trace principles.

Getting there

Originally, as we drove up, we thought we would only complete the Ptarmigan Ridge length of the trail by Artist Point. It would make the whole trip 10 miles, technically easy to do in a day. However, Chain Lakes Loop was right next door and it seemed appropriate to connect the two. Many of my friends have graduated from shorter hikes like these and now find it hard to convince themselves to drive 2.5 hours for a 3-4 hour hike. So I think it was a great decision in extending the ridge hike. We decided to park at the very bottom of the loop at Heather Meadows overflow lot to avoid ending on an uphill.

Parking at the lowest lot meant we’d tag on 1.5 miles before Artist Point. And continuing the counter clockwise loop meant we would only have 2 more miles the second day than the first day with most of the downhill and less uphill. It was quite warm when we started, at a late 11am. The lower lot was quite empty but as we hiked further, the upper lots were getting packed enough people started parking along the sides of the road. It was pleasant walking up the ridge to Artist Point, as I reminisced the winter views. Much fewer people, cooler weather, but also no blueberries to pick, ha!

Arriving at Artist Point, it definitely felt a little zoo-like, but I didn’t mind. We expected this to be the most popular and even the next stretch of trail to be fairly packed. While normally I enjoy more solitude, it was a different kind of fun passing so many people who are also out here to enjoy the mountains in their own way. Who are we to judge and complain?

Ptarmigan Ridge

Unfortunately for the Ptarmigan Ridge hike ,much like other volcanic hikes (i.e. Boroughs Mountain at Rainier), it’s entirely exposed. Make sure to wear sunscreen and a hat! We all got a bit scorched. I’d say there’s only about 1% shade along the trail. We took a lunch break in the first big shade we saw near the junction between Chain Lakes Loop and Ptarmigan Ridge. Plenty of other hikers also took a break here. Once we gathered our will to keep moving in the sun, we started hiking the ridge. We knew that we had to hike all the way to the prominent Coleman Pinnacle before finding a campsite. There were a couple false ridges we thought would be Coleman Pinnacle. But at least the trail was gentle, gaining only 1000 ft over 3 miles. That’s what I call chill!!

I mean with the heat and all, and stopping for blueberries, it was still a lengthy enough hike, but I loved not being pressed to hike faster. Just able to enjoy the trail and good company. As we rounded the corner of the trail under the Coleman Pinnacle, we saw the first glimpse of Goat Lake. It’s somehow not labeled anywhere but it’s quite obvious from the trail, so I see why it’s easy for people to hike the side trail.

If you continue further along the Ptarmigan Ridge, you’ll reach Camp Kiser, with great views, and the end of the trail at the Portals, where it becomes a technical trail for those summiting Mt Baker. We went straight into camp mode and didn’t end up visiting the Portals like we thought we might. All along the stretch from the main trail to Goat Lake, there’s many camp sites. I implore you to use an existing campsite instead of creating your own. This minimizes our impact on the land.

Camp

To our surprise, there were a couple dozen tents set up. Granted, there were many spots to camp, but it had been a while since I’ve camped somewhere nearly as popular. Every got their own space and privacy, except it was actually difficult to find a hidden spot to pee. At first I walked a couple minutes to the ridge above, but then eventually someone set up camp right on the ridge. Oh well!

We chose a little mound where a camp existed before, but noticed some other people a little extra close to the water, which isn’t the best for keeping the lake water clean. We all took a wade or dip in the lake, as did many other people. It took some convincing but it was actually not too cold of a lake for September, after being warmed up all summer.

A note on glacial lakes: Glacial silt can ruin water filters because silt is so fine, the filter easily gets clogged. Bring an extra filter and make sure to clean them after your trip. Alternatively, try to collect water from a running clear stream instead of the pretty silty water.

We took our time to make dinner, my first time in a really long time for Mountain House freeze dried and I’m happy to say it was good! Not terribly more expensive than creating my own meal for something that’s tasty instead of my usual mac and cheese, which has started to get old. Once we finished dinner, we geared up for sunset on the ridge for views of both Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan.

To our dismay, some low hanging clouds on the horizon for both sunrise and sunset prevented us from seeing a mind-blowing alpenglow on both mountains. Maybe next time! No matter, it was still so cool to be this close to the beautiful glaciers of Kulshan (Baker). We took our time back at camp to eat breakfast and pack up to go. I feel like we must have been one of the first groups to leave the area, though plenty of people were already hiking from the trailhead or returning from Camp Kiser.

Chain Lakes Loop

On our way out, we saw a large pack of goats! So fun, and makes the lake aptly named. On our hike back to Chain Lakes, we had the most interesting weather. From hot and sunny to windy and rainy, we had it all. The cold front was intense and I was glad to have my rain jacket with me. But by the time we reached the Chain Lakes Loop, we had great moderate weather again for our final small uphills and for views of Kulshan with the lakes. Soon enough, we were back at the trailhead, ready to change into sandals!

Note

• There’s plenty of campsites between the Ptarmigan Ridge, the Chain Lakes Loop for more secluded trees, and the wide open Goat Lakes area. Be sure to follow Leave No Trace practices when camping, such as setting up your tent at least 200 ft away from any water source.
• For water filtration, any lake that is green-blue is created with glacial silt which will eventually clog your water filters. Make sure to clean it out when you’re home and try to source water from a clear stream instead!
• If you’re only hiking Ptarmigan Ridge, make sure you go early enough to snag a spot at Artist Point. It gets very popular!
• If you’re also hiking Chain Lakes Loop, it’s ideal to park at Heather Meadows overflow lot (same as the winter lot if you’ve been). This minimizes the uphill back to your car.

Photos taken on Canon EOS R5