PHOTOS: Out of the smoke and into the North Cascades
CASEY KREIDER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 weeks, 5 days AGO
Hikers descend the ridgeline from Trappers Peak above the lower Thornton Lake in North Cascades National Park on Aug. 8. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Starry skies and the Milky Way from my campsite along the Skagit River on Aug. 6. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Hikers explore the Artist Ridge area with a view of Mount Shuksan at Mount Baker Ski Area in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on Aug. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
The sun sets behind Diablo Lake along the North Cascade Scenic Highway on Aug. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Seatlle Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo delivers against the Detroit Tigers at T-Mobile Park on Aug. 5. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
A hiker explores the Artist Ridge area with a view of Mount Shuksan at Mount Baker Ski Area in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on Aug. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
The Thornton Lakes are viewed from the ascent up Trappers Peak in North Cascades National Park on Aug. 8. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Starry skies and the Milky Way from my campsite along the Skagit River on Aug. 6. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Hikers explore the Artist Ridge area with a view of Mount Shuksan at Mount Baker Ski Area in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on Aug. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Fellow hikers Dylan and Fritz, from Puyallup, Wa., stop for snack below the summit of Trappers Peak in North Cascades National Park on Aug. 8. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
A hiker walks down the Artist Ridge trail with a view of Mount Baker at Mount Baker Ski Area in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on Aug. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Fellow hikers Dylan and Fritz, from Puyallup, Wa., stop to enjoy the view below the summit of Trappers Peak in North Cascades National Park on Aug. 8. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
A hiker explores the Artist Ridge area with a view of Mount Shuksan at Mount Baker Ski Area in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on Aug. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
The sun sets behind Diablo Lake along the North Cascade Scenic Highway on Aug. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
A section of trail leading to a scramble to Trappers Peak, left, with the Picket Range in the distance in North Cascades National Park on Aug. 8. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
The jagged summits of the Picket Range seen from Trappers Peak in North Cascades National Park on Aug. 8. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Mount Shuksan is reflected in Picture Lake at the Mount Baker Ski Area in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on Aug. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Casey Kreider is a staff photographer for the Daily Inter Lake. His work documents news, sports, wildlife, landscapes and everyday life across Northwest Montana through visual storytelling. Kreider’s keen eye captures major sporting events, community moments, and the natural beauty that defines the region. He is a graduate of Penn State University and previously worked as a photographer for Lancaster Newspapers in Pennsylvania. In 2024, he received the Montana Newspaper Association’s Mel Ruder Photograph of the Year award. IMPACT: Kreider's work brings readers closer to the people, places and moments that shape life in Northwest Montana through powerful visual journalism. | September 19, 2026 11:55 PM
I had to get out of the smoke. I had some vacation time scheduled but no solid idea of where to go to escape the heavy haze that blanketed the valley earlier this summer.
My wife came up with the plan. Take the camper. Go to a Mariners game. Then go do that hike in the North Cascades you won’t shut up about. I checked the wildfire smoke app on my phone and it looked like the winds would shift in my favor just in time to get a hike or two in.
The Mariners actually won the game I attended, 4-2, over the Detroit Tigers, sandwiched in between two shutout losses 8-0 and 11-0. The Mariners 2026 season in a nutshell.
Thursday morning I drove from Seattle to the town of Marblemount and arrived early enough to snag a nice site at a campground along the Skagit River. The sky cleared up enough that night to snap some night-sky Milky Way photos outside the camper.
I woke up Friday morning to blue skies. Winds had shifted back to blowing wildfire smoke to the east. I scanned a paper park map and selected a dot called Artist Point way up in the Mount Baker Ski Area, thinking a name like that is usually a good indicator of it being a worthy place to explore and take some photos. I was not wrong.
I chose what turned out to be an easy but extraordinarily beautiful touristy hike up a short ridgeline called Artist Ridge. The trail winds its way around small alpine melt pools with jaw-dropping views of Mount Shuksan and Mount Baker.
Saturday was the day for Trappers Peak. A few steep wooded miles along the Thornton Lakes Trail followed by two off-trail sections of fun ridgeline scrambling pops you out on top of an open summit with panoramic views of North Cascade peaks, the jagged Picket Range and the three Thornton Lakes. Skies were clear and pictures were taken.
I love it when a plan comes together.
Photographer Casey Kreider can be reached at 406-758-4449 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.
Starry skies and the Milky Way from my campsite along the Skagit River on Aug. 6. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Hikers explore the Artist Ridge area with a view of Mount Shuksan at Mount Baker Ski Area in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on Aug. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
The sun sets behind Diablo Lake along the North Cascade Scenic Highway on Aug. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Seatlle Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo delivers against the Detroit Tigers at T-Mobile Park on Aug. 5. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
A hiker explores the Artist Ridge area with a view of Mount Shuksan at Mount Baker Ski Area in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on Aug. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
The Thornton Lakes are viewed from the ascent up Trappers Peak in North Cascades National Park on Aug. 8. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Starry skies and the Milky Way from my campsite along the Skagit River on Aug. 6. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Hikers explore the Artist Ridge area with a view of Mount Shuksan at Mount Baker Ski Area in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on Aug. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Fellow hikers Dylan and Fritz, from Puyallup, Wa., stop for snack below the summit of Trappers Peak in North Cascades National Park on Aug. 8. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
A hiker walks down the Artist Ridge trail with a view of Mount Baker at Mount Baker Ski Area in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on Aug. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Fellow hikers Dylan and Fritz, from Puyallup, Wa., stop to enjoy the view below the summit of Trappers Peak in North Cascades National Park on Aug. 8. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
A hiker explores the Artist Ridge area with a view of Mount Shuksan at Mount Baker Ski Area in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on Aug. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
The sun sets behind Diablo Lake along the North Cascade Scenic Highway on Aug. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
A section of trail leading to a scramble to Trappers Peak, left, with the Picket Range in the distance in North Cascades National Park on Aug. 8. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
The jagged summits of the Picket Range seen from Trappers Peak in North Cascades National Park on Aug. 8. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Mount Shuksan is reflected in Picture Lake at the Mount Baker Ski Area in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on Aug. 7. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
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