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Mt. Adams 7/24/21

After a month of hotter than normal weather, Mt. Adams had a lot less snow than it usually does.

The shadow of the mountain hitting the haze as the full moon is setting.

Above the tree line.

Our glissade will not start at the false summit this year.

Heading up the south face.

There is not much snow on the upper mountain.

Doug, Alex, Kirk and James on the summit.

Nathan, Ellen (9) and Hannah on top. No need for parkas on this day.

The 100 year old fire lookout/miner's cabin is melted out this year!

Some people say that the Enchantments are the most beautiful place in the lower 48. It is almost impossible to get an overnight permit, but you can dayhike it without one. Be sure to get fit, leave early and bring a headlamp. It is about 17 miles and 7,000' of elevation whether you do the traverse or go out and back like we did. We have done the traverse before and did not get much out of the 9 mile walk in the woods at the end. I would rather see all of the amazing things again on the way back, even though it means descending Aasgard.

A knee-high baby goat.

Mountain Goats above Crystal Lake.

Ellen (9), Alex, Nathan, Marney, DaLynn and Doug above Inspiration Lake.

Perfection Lake and Little Annapurna.

It's the "keep your feet dry" challenge.

Flowers on an island in the creek.

The sun setting behind Colchuck Lake.

The plan was to see as much as we could, make it back down to the better trails before it got dark and then hike out by headlamp. We got home really late, but it was worth it!

Chair Peak 8/8/20

Chair Peak wins again! I am starting to wonder if the sun ever shines on this mountain. It was cloudy and misty all day. The higher we climbed, the wetter it got. It was just too slick and risky, so we decided to turn back before things got worse.

Upper Keekwulee Falls

Ron, Nathan, Jason and Doug descending the wet gully.

Mt. Rainier, Disappointment Cleaver 7/26/20

Climbing a dog route in July is normally an "easy" summit for a well prepared team, but not in 2020. MRNP was closed to car traffic for most of the spring. Disappointment Cleaver was more like an intermediate route and not even climbed until about a month before our trip. There were a lot of changes and restrictions in place. Everything came together nicely in the last few weeks before the climb. The weather was perfect. It was warmer than normal, but not too hot and it was unusually calm, even on the summit.

Alex, Nate, Ross, Nathan and Doug ready to take on the mountain.

We camped at 11,100' Ingraham Flats with a great view of our route up Disappointment Cleaver and the Ingraham Glacier.

House sized blocks of teetering ice near our camp.

Sunrise from 14,000'!

Doug, Nathan, Ross, Nate and Alex on the summit.

Locomotive sized seracs ready to topple at any moment!

Checking out the view from the spine of DC. Little Tahoma in the background.

A few hours later, we were in the parking lot barbecuing hot dogs and then home in time for dinner!

Chikamin Peak 7/11/20

If you have ever driven over Snoqualmie Pass, you have probably seen Chikamin Peak. It is NE of Hyak at the end of the Gold Creek Valley.

There are a couple of challenging creek crossings on the way. The Mineral Creek Trail is really overgrown. There are long sections where you can't even see the trail and you get wet from the dew on the plants.