1/27/2026 Mineral Butte is a great winter climb that seems to be getting much more attention now that the Index-Galena Road has been repaired. The climb starts shortly after crossing the North Fork Skykomish River on Salmon Creek Road. The road is gated shortly after the crossing. There is an old, switchbacking logging road on the lower part of the mountain that is quickly being reclaimed by nature. This road can be used to make a gentle ascent up to about 3800’, but with the

1/17/2026 Eric and I enjoyed a nice snowshoe jaunt up to Thomspon Point during the height of the high-pressure system we’ve been enjoying in Western Washington. Incredible snowshoeing conditions We set off up the familiar Granite Creek trail shortly after 8 am, starting from a frosty parking lot. We made quick work of the hike up to the Thompson Lake turnoff, encountering no snow whatsoever until we reached the trail intersection. Here snow was patchy, but eventually became m

1/14/2026 I took advantage of the persistent high-pressure system we’ve been having in Western Washington to stretch the legs and tag Frailey Mountain. This was a road walk the entire way, except for a short climb up to the old lookout site. There were spots with great views of Whitehorse, Three Fingers, and the North Fork Stillaguamish river valley, and only scant amounts of snow. 11 miles in total with nearly 2000 feet of gain coming up from Deer Creek Road at Lake Cavanaug

12/31/2025 I took advantage of a spectacular winter weather day to climb West Granite Mountain aka Tusk O’Granite, starting from the standard Pratt Lake/Granite Mountain Trailhead on a frosty morning at about 8 am. The whole parking lot was a sheet of ice (thankfully the road in from I-90 wasn’t too bad) so I wore microspikes from the car. Typical forest climbing I hiked up the very familiar trail, continuing past the Granite Mountain trail intersection for about 0.5 miles to

11/19/2025 Jim and I did a fun loop in the local hills, taking advantage of a sunny day in November before the winter snow began in earnest. We began in the Olallie State Park picnic area parking lot and took the Hall Creek trail for a quarter mile, before making the short, steep climb up to join the Hall Creek trestle and the Palouse to Cascades Trail. Jim was actually involved with the restoration of the trestle in 1999 following a washout in the 80s, which was fun to hear

10/30/2025 I made an attempt on Mount McCausland via the Smithbrook Trailhead but was thwarted by deep snow on the final slopes to the summit. An early heavy dump of snow had left the Cascades blanketed in white by late October. I tried driving up to the Smithbrook trailhead, but being the cautious snow driver I am, I decided to park on the roadside after I encountered the first areas of slick snow on the roadway. I had made it about 1.3 miles up the road, which left me with

10/28/2025 I took a fall color hike to Robe Canyon and was very impressed by the scenery and power of the South Fork Stillaguamish River. The trail drops into the canyon via a series of switchbacks, losing about 250 feet from the trailhead on the Mountain Loop Highway before reaching the bottom. The rest of the hike consisted of flat walking, until the trail terminated abruptly at a closed sign. I was really impressed by the river here and the fall color was spectacular, even

10/28/2025 Quick jaunt up Barlow Point on a cloudy late October day. There was a bit of snow on the summit, and some nice views of Big Four Mountain. Round trip time was just under an hour. Big Four and Hall Peak from the summit Barlow Pass sign Beautiful fall color on the Mountain Loop Highway Couldn't get enough of the fall color Final Stats: 2.5 miles / 864 feet of ascent

10/8/2025 In a tie for the 200 th  tallest peak in Washington with over 400ft of prominence, Wallaby Peak is a is a nice destination with a high reward to effort ratio. Departing straight from the hairpin near Washington Pass, it doesn’t take long to get up to views into the heart of the North Cascades. Early Winters Spire is seen early and often on the Kangaroo Pass trail The trail to Kangaroo Pass is mostly well-defined, with only a few sections of boulder-hopping low down

10/4/2025 This was a great fall-color loop with Katie. While the hordes of larch marchers were congregating at the Maple Pass trailhead, we departed from the quiet Bridge Creek trailhead, just a mile down the road. We hiked on the PCT for about an eighth of a mile before turning off onto the Stiletto Spur trail. This trail was quite well maintained, despite a bit of brush in the valley, and we quickly reached the turnoff to Stiletto Peak. The climb up to the old lookout site

9/28/2025 Aaron and Kyle were up for an ascent of Mount Thomson. We met at 6:30 at Snoqualmie Pass, and it was still quite dark outside – the first time all year that I had to confront the grim reality that peak summer had passed us by. We took the shortcut up Commonwealth basin, joining up with the PCT and cruising the easy miles below Kendall peak, reaching the Katwalk a bit over 2 hours after leaving the trailhead. It was clear that wildfire smoke was thick to the east, bu

9/19/2025 - 9/20/2025 I had made two previous trips to the basin below Boulder Pass. One was an attempt at Clark Mountain that ended when we found ourselves inside of a thick cloud and was comprised mostly of hanging out in the tent to avoid the rain. The second was a successful climb of Clark Mountain that was also spent mostly in the clouds. Needless to say, I was very familiar with the approach but wasn’t fully convinced the sun ever shone on Boulder Pass or the surroundin

8/30/2025 - 8/31/2025 Labor Day weekend occupies a prime spot on the peakbagging calendar in Washington. When a prospective trip to Holden was cancelled due to lightning-caused wildfire, we wanted to pivot to something closer to home that wouldn’t be overrun with crowds. Eric came up with the great idea to camp at Rock Lake and add on a scramble of Malachite Peak. We passed a huge number of cars parked at the Necklace Valley trailhead (I guess the secret is out about Tank Lak

8/23/2025-8/24/2025 The Drop Creek approach is a method for accessing Mount Formidable and the Ptarmigan Traverse that has been gaining in popularity in recent years. It avoids glacier travel, making it a nice alternative to the traditional approach from Cascade Pass in late season. Plus, there has been some recent maintenance on the South Fork Cascade River trailhead that has made this approach arguably the most pleasant it has been in years. Huge thanks to the people who ha

8/9/2025 Mike and I day-tripped Argonaut Peak via the South Route. Starting at the Beverly Turnpike trailhead at 6:22 am, we cruised up the (familiar to me) Beverly Creek trail for 2.6 miles and 1585 feet of gain. Here we made a right-hand turn and took the Fourth Creek trail, which climbed another 0.3 miles and 300 feet up to a pass, before descending into the Fourth Creek valley. By the time we hit Ingalls Creek, we had covered about 5.5 miles in about 2 hours. Ingalls Cree

8/1/2025 - 8/3/2025 Blackcap and Lago from the summit of Monument Lake and Monument were on the docket for the weekend. Both are remote peaks in the Pasayten Wilderness area that are hard to get to by any approach. Monument Peak is especially rugged and the most remote peak in the Lago group. My adventure would start at the Monument Creek trail and take me all the way up and over Pistol Pass to a camp at Lake of the Woods. I had tentative aspirations to hike all the way in to

7/19/2025 Katie and I were in Whistler and enjoyed an excellent hike to Panorama Ridge to see the brilliant blue waters of Garibaldi Lake. The hike starts from the Rubble Creek Trailhead, and a day-use pass is required in the summer. Beautiful views abound on this hike with the Tantalus Range, Black Tusk, and Garibaldi and its surrounding glaciers stealing the show. Even though the round-trip distance is over 16 miles with 5000 feet of elevation gain, this is a well-establish

7/12/2025-7/13/2025 The goal for the weekend was Azurite Peak, a member of the Bulger List north of Tower and Golden Horn. It’s a peak that takes a substantial effort to get to regardless of the approach. I toyed with the idea of coming in from the Methow River side but had seen trip reports stating that the trail was horribly overgrown and in disrepair. Other climbers have come in via Mill Creek or even from Harts Pass, but there was another approach that piqued my interest.

6/29/2025 - 7/3/2025 Introduction Gannett is a big undertaking, no matter how you approach it. At 13,810 feet in elevation with over 7000 feet of prominence, it is an imposing, isolated mountain, in one of the most remote wilderness areas in the lower 48. There are two main approaches climbers use to reach Gannett, one from the east and one from the west. The approach from the west (Pinedale, WY) is via the beautiful Titcomb Basin and requires going up and over Bonney Pass on

6/28/2025 The highest point in the Snowy Range in south central Wyoming at over 12,000 feet tall, Medicine Bow Peak was a nice acclimatization hike. This area is the crown jewel of the Medicine Bow mountains, with pretty meadows, lakes, and some surprisingly alpine scenery that are easily accessible from Highway 130. There are multiple trailheads that hikers use to access Medicine Bow Peak. We chose to use the Lewis Lake trailhead because it is the shortest and most straightf