10/7/2021 Abernathy Peak is one of the most straight-forward of Washington’s Top 100 mountains, so I decided to make a day trip out of it. I started from the Scatter Creek Trailhead, which is a couple of miles before the end of Twisp River Road, shortly after 9 am. The route is immediately a little confusing, because you have to turn off the Twisp River trail by making a right onto the Scatter Creek Trail shortly after departing. Once I found the right trail, it was a matter

9/21/2021 - 9/23/2021 With some weekdays available and a decent weather forecast, Katie and I headed out to the Chelan Sawtooths for some peakbagging, larch viewing and lake camping. This area is a long drive from Seattle but is always so worth the trip. Our adventure began with a night in the car at Crater Creek Trailhead. The gravel road up to the trailhead was in great shape for us and was a breeze to drive at night. After a good night’s sleep, we packed our overnight ge

9/14/2021 - 9/16/2021 Glacier Peak with peak fall foliage...what a combo! A mid-September venture into the Glacier Peak Wilderness was on the schedule and we couldn’t be more excited. This trip promised meadows, big mountain views and plenty of fall color. Katie and I made the drive out to Trinity and got started up the Buck Creek Trail at around 2 pm. Our only goal for the first day was to get a few miles up the trail and find a good place to camp. The weather was misty and

9/7/2021 With another great September day on our hands, Fern, Isabel and I headed out in search of Gunn Peak (or the infinity tarn if we were being honest with our priorities) in the Wild Sky Wilderness. Gunn is one of the steep, pointy summits you can see on highway 2 driving into Sultan and is actually the high point of the wilderness, so I was very excited about this one. The climbers path trailhead is very non-descript. We located a narrow gravel spur off the main road n

7/27/2021 - 7/28/2021 Desolation Peak is a worthy destination not only because of its unique approach and incredible scenery, but also because of the historical interest of the fire lookout that sits on its summit. The mountain resides directly above Ross Lake on its east side in the shadow of the imposing cliffs of Hozomeen Mountain to its north. It can be approached via a long walk on the East Bank trail from Highway 20, but most people opt to take the Ross Lake Resort wate

5/15/2021 Ross Lake and Hozomeen from high on Ruby This trip began with a bit of indecision. To bring skis or not to bring skis, that was the question. I had my splitboard in my car for another ski trip at Washington Pass, but I just wasn’t sure if it was worth it to carry it for this trip. After a night in the back of my car at a pullout on the side of Highway 20, I set off up the Happy Creek trail without the splitboard. I reasoned that the snow level would be too high, an