Backpacking trip: day three, Lake Ann to Bagley lakes parking lot

During our night at Lake Ann, we heard boots walk by and saw the lights from headlamps leading their way so we knew climbers had gone out while we were tucked away in our sleeping bags.

We woke to this view.

We leisurely ate our breakfast and packed up our tent. We weren't in a hurry to leave this beautiful area. I stared hard at the mountain with our binoculars hoping to see some climbers. I finally found two heading up the last snow field just below the summit (the pyramid looking peak above the highest glacier). We stopped by for another photo op before we left.

Goodbye Lake Ann, thank you for the wonderful time in your beauteous area.

Just after I had gone a few steps below the saddle I looked down and saw this large heart rock. Yes, my heart was full.

The upper section of the trail has many of these great rocks in the photo below, I called them topo rocks as they looked like they had topographic map detail on them.

A look a where we'd come from on our first day.

Mount Baker surrounded by clouds.

Back to the green vegetation and flowers in the lower section of the trail.

Fun little stone steps and flowers along the path.

Another lunch break by the lower creek. I put my hat on this post on purpose, because it's a new hat. On the way up the highway, I turned to my husband and said oh no, I forgot my hat. So we stopped at the store in Maple Falls and purchased this Hwy 542 hat. This sign post points to hwy 542, a fitting place for a photo of my new hat don't you think?! *When we stopped the car to begin our hike, guess what I found clipped to my pack. Yes, my hat. Oh well, I hiked with my new hat, because a girl can't have to many hiking hats can she😉.

After lunch we made our way through the last rock section of the trail. The rest of the trail leads up to the highway.

The view of where we'd come from just that morning.

We crossed the highway and made our way down the rest of the Wild Goose trail.

One last sentimental look at where our journey began.

Table Mountain above the old Slush Cup"" pond.

A great 3 day backpacking trip. The weather held for us, not too hot and not too cold. We had a healthy dose of mosquitoes at our camps, but what's camping without mosquitoes - right?!

Garmin stats:

total miles hiked - 5.05

total ascent -1007 feet

total descent - 1345 feet

Trip summary:

total miles hiked - 17.13 miles

total ascent - 4064 feet

total descent - 4117 feet

Backpacking trip: day two, Chain lakes to Lake Ann

We began our day hiking towards Iceberg lake and Artist point amid the wonderful wildflowers and streams along the way.

Goodbye Hayes lake, thank you for sharing your fish and mosquitoes with us.

Iceberg lake

Mazama camp is on the right.

Looking towards Ptarmigan ridge trail that leads to the Portals. That will be a hike for another day.

We stopped at this viewpoint for a rest break.

Looking towards the Artist point parking lot and the direction of Lake Ann.

After a lunch break at the parking lot we headed to the Wild Goose trail for our journey to the Lake Ann trailhead.

The Wild Goose trail was full of lovely green vegetation, flowers and steps going down the hill.

We finally got to the road and crossed it and made our way to the trail head and the hiker sign in box.

Again, so much lush greenery and flowers along the trail❤

We had a few very small creek crossings, not high enough to hardly get our boots wet.

 

When we got to about the 1/2 way point we stopped for lunch. The sign post has a PNT marker that points to the Swift Creek trail. This lead to Baker lake.

A look back at our lunch break creek view.

There are a couple of boulder fields that the trail winds through as we made our way up the trail.

The saddle to the right of the trees in the right side of the photo below is where we would be crossing over to Lake Ann. If you click on the photo to enlarge it you'll see the trail going up the hill.

The view looking to where we had started the previous day.

The last up section.

Our reward, Lake Ann!! 

I've never camped here, but every time I've hiked here I hoped I would camp there some day and here we are❤.

Our view of Mount Shuksan and Curtis glaciers.

There weren't too many camp spots left. As we hiked up climbers past us both going to Lake Ann and coming down from already summiting (sp?), so we knew that some of the camp spots would be occupied by climbers. We found one right in the open, with great views of everything. Luckily the weather was in our favor. We only had heavy dew on our tent in the morning.

We only had to walk a few steps from our camp area to see this view, and a good spot for a photo opportunity.

A few steps the other way and there was Lake Ann.

I loved the vivid green of the small ferns in between the rocks in the area around the lake.

By the time we made camp and had eaten our dinner the clouds went away and we had clear views of the mountains around us.

What a great tent window view❤

Shuksan by late evening sky.

Garmin stats:

total miles hiked - 8.04

total ascent - 1722 feet

total descent - 1811 feet

Day three, Lake Ann to the car to be continued....