Summer hiking in the American Alps (our fantabulous North Cascades) is at its zenith, and it's Friday and I'm already dyin' to get back out there.... so for those who could use a couple tidbits on where to trod, here's some nickel suggestions:

Mount Baker Area

High Divide It's high and dry up there and the wildflowers are still a-flowering, so no time to lose. The Divide is always a prime place August-September. One glitch, however. The easier approach via Damfino Lakes ("What da hell ya call this place anyway?" asks the prospector; "Damfino!" says another) on the north side via Canyon Creek is currently blocked by road construction, set to reopen sometime in September. Check with the Glacier Public Service Center for an update. In the meantime, the hike is still quite do-able from either the new Excelsior Pass Trailhead on Mount Baker Highway at milepost 41.1 or, my personal favorite, the Welcome Pass 67-Switchback-Wish-I-Had-A-Mule-Team Trail, reached from a short, unmarked road at milepost 45.9. Either way, it's considered a strenuous hike. Once in the meadows, the vertical drudgery is quickly forgotten. The complete one-way trek, with a key exchange among friends, is about 12 miles.

Ptarmigan Ridge Snow departed early this year, partly due to the furnace-hot conditions we experienced a few weeks back, so this high and mighty hike east of the icy volcano is in great shape. If a grind up 67 switchbacks isn't doing the motivational trick to get you out the door, then maybe a chauffered drive to Artists Point with tea and a digestive biscuit offers a suitable alternative. For you newcomers, the parking lot at Artists Point, at the very end of Mount Baker Highway, is way up there in meadow country, so the moment you step out of the car, you have "arrived." You can either roll the window down four inches and snap a photo of Mont Shuksan between all the people, or you can amble along the Ptarmigan Ridge Trail for miles, leave the crowds behind, and not even lose a dribble of your Mount Baker merlot. To earn some credit for real elevation gain, consider a quick and airy sidetrip up Table Mountain near the start. More ambitious loopers will enjoy hanging a right on the Chain Lakes Trail, lunching at Iceberg Lake, crawling up and across Herman Saddle, then descending to Bagley Lakes for a car pickup at Heather Meadows, or maybe even a return to Artists Point via the often overlooked and well-worth-hiking Wild Goose Trail. Maybe you could have your non-hiker relatives from Jersey drop you at Artists Point then watch you glide down the Goose for a pick-up up at the ski area parking lot 40 minutes later.

Skyline Divide This popular scoot along another high ridge is a classic among locals and not all that far from the car. A moderate short hike in woods leads to the Mount Baker Wilderness boundary a few yards below the ridge crest. The trail invites many miles of further exploration toward the giant white monarch we call Mount Baker, otherwise known as Koma Kulshan. Multiple ups and downs will keep the blood pumping as the views keep getting better, if that's even possible. Stronger, more experienced trekkers can continue up onto Chowder Ridge where the trail eventually gets a little sketchy. But what a place.

All three hikes begin east of the Glacier Public Service Center, so stop in for added details, maps, your dreaded parking pass, and et cetera. Berries are showing up in a few places, firm and tart. Bugs have been mildly atrocious this year, but should be subsiding in most areas. I prefer the lemon-eucalyptus juice over DEET, even if you have to apply it twice as often. Take water and something to keep yerself warm and dry in case a bluster comes up, as often does on even the sunniest days of summer.

Safe sauntering.
- - - - -
Editor note: Ken has written several NW Washington hiking guides. They are available at NW Wild Books .