I’ve been skiing at Mt. Baker for nearly 30 years, and hiked many times at Artist Point, but never thought to do the short hike up Table Mountain, but I’m so glad I did. I only had a 6 hour window – living in Bellingham the drive is about 90 minutes or so each way, which left about 3 hours to get a hike in on an absolutely gorgeous day. This hike was perfect – about an hour up, an hour back and about an hour to have lunch and take in the views.

The hike to the top is short, somewhat steep, and probably not for those with a fear of ledges or heights. I felt safe, but a slip could make for a scary moment, and I’d never want to do this hike if it was icy or snowy. Mid-summer or early fall is the perfect time though. Once you get to the top it’s relatively flat, with a trail to a nice spot with tarns and a view of Mt Baker and Mt Shuksan. I lost the trail a couple of times, but you are essentially on a rocky tabletop and it’s easy to see where you want to go if you do go off the trail. When that happened though it was pretty simple to find the trail and rejoin it to the end.