7/31/2026 I got an early start from the Denny Creek trailhead and quickly made my way under the I-90 overpass and crossed the creek at the waterslide area. The creek was running low, as expected in late July, but still had some nice pools and would be a nice place to spend a hot summer day. Morning light looking back down the Denny Creek valley towards I-90 The rest of the hike up to Hemlock Pass was uneventful and I found myself turning off the main trail 1 hour and 20 minut

7/3/2026 - 7/4/2026 A return to the Inspiration Icecap was in order – this time for Klawatti Peak. Rio and I stopped by the WIC in Marblemount hoping to get a permit for the Klawatti Zone. I wasn’t surprised that permits would be hard to come by in the area over the long weekend, but I was surprised that Klawatti was full and Eldorado had space. We gladly accepted a permit for the Eldorado bivy sites and were off on our way down the Cascade River Road. Rio making the river cr

6/28/2026 I was in need of a big day in the mountains, but June-uary wasn’t cooperating with my plans. Just about everywhere in Washington and BC was forecast to experience cloudy conditions with some light rain over the weekend. After studying some weather models, there appeared to be a short-lived gap in the clouds over the rain-shadowed northeast part of the Olympics on Sunday morning. I decided to capitalize on this by making a quick visit to Royal Basin, with the hope of

6/17/2026 I got out for a quick after-work jaunt up Avalanche Mountain – a peak that exceeded my expectations. I started from the Snow Lake Trailhead at 4:45 and made great time up the familiar trail. I hit the crest above the lake before 5:30 and jogged down the first few switchbacks on the other side, before leaving the trail unceremoniously at the terminus of one of the switchbacks. I cut cross country through heather and huckleberry bushes, often following small human or

6/13/2026 - 6/14/2026 Despite looking like a tiny nub on the side of Mount Rainier from afar, Little Tahoma is a worthy mountain in its own right. It has enough prominence to qualify as Washington state’s third highest peak, and provides a big mountain feel that belies its status as a volcanic subpeak. Eric and I had plans to climb Little Tahoma as a one-night outing, with a night at Meany Crest and an early start the next morning. Because the hike in would be relatively shor

5/31/2026 This was a memorable day-hike of a prominent peak in the North Shore Mountains near Vancouver with awesome views of Howe Sound and the surrounding peaks. Cool trees After doing a couple errands in the city, I drove out to Lions Bay, foolishly expecting to be able to park at the trailhead. Little did I know, half of the metro area seemed to be hiking to Tunnel Bluffs that day, so I ended up having to park a good distance away from the official trailhead on a resident

5/9/2026 Eric, Mike, and I were in the market for a nice, big, daytrip, and after a few ideas were tossed around, we settled upon Big Snow Mountain – a prominent peak in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. There are several ways that climbers can approach Big Snow, but the two main approaches are either via Dingford Creek, or Hardscrabble Lakes - both of which begin at the Dingford Creek Trailhead. Because it was a low snow year and we wanted to make it a day trip, we opted to bike

4/26/2026 Whitehorse Mountain is one of those must-climb mountains in Washington. If you’ve ever driven through the town of Darrington, you’ve undoubtedly noticed its rugged cliffs rising some 6,000 feet above the valley. I’ve long wondered what it would be like to traverse the So-Bahli-Alhi Glacier and stand on the summit, and that feeling has only grown stronger the more times I’ve driven past. There is a relatively narrow window for climbing Whitehorse. Go too early in the

3/28/2026 When you think of the most prominent summits in the state of Washington, what comes to mind? Most people would envision glacier-clad volcanoes like Mount Ranier or Mount Baker, and craggy peaks like Mount Shuksan and Stuart. Surprisingly, a humble, assuming summit called Round Mountain is ranked 8th on the list, higher than many of the most notable and rugged peaks in the state. Despite its unassuming profile, Round Mountain boasts 4840 feet of prominence, which put

3/1/2026 Eric and I teamed up for a fun ascent of Oakes Peak, a summit that makes you work for the awesome views of the North Cascades from its summit. Bacon Creek Road (FS 1060) had some potholes as usual, but we were able to drive to nearly the starting point without any problems before our progress was blocked by flood debris that had spilled over the concrete pad that crosses Oakes Creek. I think this jumble of rocks and logs came down during the atmospheric river events

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