Ruth Mountain may have the best scenery-to-effort ratio in the North Cascades. A smooth gravel road to Hannegan Pass Trailhead, followed by a nicely maintained trail, easy snow travel, and no crevasse shenanigans (season dependent obviously) - highly recommend as a type 1 kind of day.

Mailbox is an unremarkable peak for someone who’s gotten used to the scenery around North Bend and the I-90 corridor (and also done it many times), but it was a great day for friends visiting from out east. Ended up being a memorable one because it was one of those “above the clouds” type of days!

I usually forget a lot of my urban runs but this was a good one. I often think about what my life would look like if I lived in SF/Bay Area, and maybe I’d come here quite a bit if I did.

A recovery day on the way to San Francisco. Absolutely bonkers seeing the amount of flooding in the park and pouring water in the falls. A lot of old-timers seemed to agree that this year was exceptional with the amount of snowfall that landed in the Sierra. Apologies for the repeat photos, still in awe at the novelty of it all.

A break from skiing to check out a local hot spring.

A nice day for peakbagging in between bouldering days.