Hike in to Lower Ice Lake   I apparently couldn’t get enough of driving the Phelps Creek Road this summer, so I braved the endless miles...

Day 1: Getting to the Trailhead (aka the crux of the trip) and Spider Meadows  Our annual Labor Day backpacking trip got off to a strong...

Katie and I made the long drive to the Entiat river valley in the trusty Prius on Friday night. Once you leave pavement the road is 95%...

It had been a goal of mine to sleep in the Three Fingers Lookout for years. It is an iconic and improbably place for a fire lookout with...

Katie and I spent 4 days exploring Lost Creek Ridge over Labor Day weekend. This was an area that had always interested me, and I’d...

The weather for the Fourth of July weekend wasn’t looking too great for western Washington. The saying “summer doesn’t start until July...

With some weekdays available and a decent weather forecast, Katie and I headed out to the Chelan Sawtooths for some peakbagging, larch...

A mid-September venture into the Glacier Peak Wilderness was on the schedule and we couldn’t be more excited. This trip promised meadows,...

Desolation Peak is a worthy destination not only because of its unique approach and incredible scenery, but also because of the...

With resplendent larches, rugged granite peaks, and a fraction of the crowds of the Enchantments, the Chelan Sawtooths are a great...

There are some places in the Cascades that have a near magnetic pull on me. I love looking at maps of the mountains and dreaming of new...

I had spent precious little time in the Pasayten Wilderness, and it was time to change that. The Pasayten is in the northeast corner of...

Snowfield Peak is a great glacier climb in the heart of the North Cascades. I was excited for my second ascent of the mountain, this time...

Big plans came together for an amazing mountain experience over the Fourth of July weekend. The Inspiration Traverse is a super...

One of the most amazing parts of living in Washington state is to be bored one day and have the option to decide to go sleep on top of a...

As masters of the alpine start, Fern and I got going from Rainy Pass at the impressive hour of 1:30 pm. The vast majority of our hike in...

Gothic Basin is a popular place for a reason. It is a high bowl dotted with lakes – the crown jewel of which is Foggy Lake – and...