Up to Artist Ridge

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First, a couple of pictures showing Whatcom Falls, which is still running very high (the flood gates are still open I believe).

Now, on to today - which was a perfect day for snow-shoeing...the only complaints being 1) I over-dressed (it was HOT - like 60+ in the sun) and 2) since there was no new snow, it was very icy.

We started off thinking we'd just bum around for an hour or two but once we fought through the crowds and got our gear on, it was just to darn nice to stop...so we made it all the way up to Artist Ridge.  The weather was amazing - we saw many skiers and snow-boarders in t-shirts and a few even in shorts.  It took us both about 100' to shed some layers of our own; no gloves, hat or jacket needed.  (For you weather geeks, it's called an inversion layer which simply means it's colder at low elevations and hotter at high elevations; which is why it was still icy at our house when we got back, and much colder).The views were as amazing as ever.  Literally, there was not a single cloud anywhere to be seen.  The highlight for Julie was feeding the birds up at the top; the camp-robbers always seem like they haven't eaten in a long time.

The drive up was interesting too as we saw first-hand some of the destruction the recent floods have caused.  It was very frightening in a way to see how much damage was done just off of the Mt. Baker Highway; as the mud line came way up in a few spots.  The crew was repairing the damage; all of it caused by what, at the moment, is an ankle deep creek about 5' wide.  I could jump across it at its current level.

All in all, a great day spent.  Don't forget to check out the rest of the photos.