Artist Point is open! Last time we went, the place was under thick snow, and the road was impassible. This time we finally were able to get there. Wow, it is worth the wait. It is essentially a high saddle point between Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan. You can see both! Baker is like a snowball, almost completely glacier-covered, except for a few ridges. Shuksan is like jagged fangs, with multiple peaks rising sharply from the glaciers. A hanging glacier is clearly visible. Very impressive. To the north, we can see a great expanse of lower mountain peaks and ridges, but the most impressive are in the distance, near the U.S./Canadian border. The American Border Peak rises high as a skewed blade. The Canadian Border Peaks look like a vertical screen, with jagged tops. It is amazing how vertical the sides of those peaks are. Next to them are more sharp and vertical peaks. Towards the south, the ridges are very far away, presumably part of the Cascades.
A minor correction, we actually had trouble seeing Baker for quite a while, because of consistent cloud cover. We only managed to see it on our last day. Luckily, we were able to witness it in the twilight. Then, a slight fog was present and the details were obscured somewhat, and the whole western scene was like a watercolor painting. Shuksan, however, were in and out of clouds throughout. We admired it every chance we got.
