Chain Lakes Loop

Four of us stayed at Baker Lodge the night before. It was nice to start a hike right after a hearty breakfast and a hot shower at the lodge. We gathered up at the Baker Lodge parking lot and carpooled for a 5-minute drive up to Artist Point.
Artist Point parking lot was pretty empty at 9AM. After waiting for 30 minutes for those making a long trip to the trail head, we started the hike going counter clockwise by taking the Wild Goose Trail down to Heather Meadows Visitor Center/Austin Pass picnic are. It was nice to do this steep section going down hill on fresh legs than to climb it at the end of long hike had we gone clock-wise.
Nice views of Bagley Lakes from this part of the hike.
After a brief bio break at Heather Meadows visitor center, we continued through the smooth lava rocks with built-in steps to Chain Lakes trail. The trail ascended steadily first followed by a few switched backs up towards Herman Saddle. Views of Mt. Shuksan across the valley were breath taking. Crimson fall colors of blueberry made the hills come alive. We made several stops on the way take in the views and capture memories. Mt. Baker became visible once we crested the Herman Saddle part of the trail. After a few more pictures, we descended down to Iceberg lake and picked a nice sunny spot between Iceberg and Hayes lake for a lunch break. A pit toilette with a nice view of Iceberg lake was well marked and easily accessible.
We hiked along the edge of the lake towards Table Mountain which offered yet another opportunity to brag about the hike on our Facebook profiles.
This section of the trail gradually regains elevation lost in descent to Iceberg Lake. Last mile of the hike provided yet another experience with cotton-candy clouds rolling down the mountain. By the time we reached Artist Point, the views were veiled by clouds.
At this leisure pace, the we finished the hike at about 3PM and then drove down to Baker Lodge to wind down with some hot coco and high-tea.