[kw]

Went up Mount Margaret with a stop at Margaret Lake for another I-90 hike. Not much of note, most of the trail is clear of snow with the small exception of the last half or so of the spur to Margaret Lake. The east slopes of Mt Margaret descending onto Margaret Lake seem to have gotten some pretty bad avalanches this winter, the lake is still about half covered in a mix of snow, dirt, and fallen trees (see below). You can see quite a few fresh torn stumps looking upslope from the lake too.

[Backpacker Joe]

That hillside is beautiful in the fall.

[neek]

Took the family backpacking in the Teanaway for the holiday weekend.

Lake Ann

I did the Fortune - South Ingalls ridge the first evening. Some 3rd class along the ridge, not a good kid/dog route.

Lake Ingalls

Stuart

Ingalls

South Ingalls

Part way up Scatter Peaks the next morning...

mine

Pano from Scatter Peaks SE ridge

And took the kid up South Ingalls in the evening. There's a slightly exposed step to be mindful of.

South Ingalls

[Bushwacker]

Enjoyed a very peaceful lunch at Lake Margaret many moons ago with Erik and Allison. BPJ is quite correct that the lake and hillside take on a whole different look later in the season. Glad you had a good time.

[abkoch3]

Went up Big Jim Mt via Hatchery Creek on July 5. One short section of road in gave me some issues in my Forester and only 2 other cars had made it past that, both big 4WD pickups. First 1.5 mi up Hatchery Creek is super brushy, then turns into 3-4 miles of blowdowns through the burn area. A note at the TH said someone had counted 146 as of 6/20/21. Smoke was blowing in on the way up, so no views north or east on the way up and some of definite sense of dread to have it so early in the year. Trail got significantly easier at ~6000', views to the south were clear and wildflowers were going strong. Decent water just before the junction w/Icicle Ridge Trail. Took the trail past Lake Augusta up to the pass, cut across on the ridge – easy scrambling and ridge walking. Smoke had cleared by the summit and had pretty good views all around. Descended via the other ridge back to the junction with Icicle Ridge trail. I had decided that if there was a Big Jim Mountain, there should be a Slim Jim nearby, so I gave Pt. 7616 the honor, but I doubt it'll stick. Cleared ~ 70 blowdowns on the way back out, but still easily could be 80-100 with many more ready to come down any time.

[AntiqueLaser]

Climbed Summit Chief along the Snoqualmie Crest as a leisurely trip over the holiday weekend with 2 beautiful nights at the Vista Tarns. The bugs were bittin' but I think we're a few weeks out from peak. From camp stayed along snow or slabs up into the big SE snowbowl around 6500. Lose scrambling the rest of the way, the upper gully on the west side before the summit block was particularly unpleasant. I'm always inspired by the Overcoat Glacier area! My last Smoot peak the in ALW.

Overcoat glacier

view N/NE continuation of the crest, Hinman/Daniel group

[babylero]

Headed up church mountain on the 5th. It is almost completely melted out, just a few snow crossings in the meadows, but nothing steep/run out. Creek was crossable and snow bridges avoidable.

[comeonandham]

Took the Beverly Turnpike to Ingalls Creek trail, camping at Ingalls Creek. Up to Lake Ingalls via the back route the next morning, and then hiked out the way we came. Meant to make it a loop back across Bean Peak but it was hot and we took the easy way out.

Two potentially great loops out in the western Teanaway that use our first day as a starting point:

• camp by the meadow below Ingalls (3rd pic) and go out through Headlight Basin, hitching a ride back to the turnoff to the Beverly trailhead
• go east down Ingalls creek and come back via 4th of July creek and Bean Peak.

[Malachai Constant]

Went up Ira Spring tonight. Road not as bad as they say. 15cars in lot at 6pm. Mountain was out, some wildflowers two bear grass still in bloom. Mozzies bad if you stop. Fun quick trip < 3 hr RT.

[solohiker]

I guess it's perspective and maybe vehicle dependent, but was up Ira Spring the same day as MC and felt the hoopla about the road was pretty accurate. My Nissan Frontier had plenty of clearance so didn't encounter serious problems. It's driveable, and I've seen worse elsewhere, but it is the worst I've seen that particular road. Would not have wanted to be there in a low-clearance sedan. I've experienced (years ago on a different road but conditions were similar) damaging the front end alignment on my old Volvo - not a cheap fix and it was never the same. On this Ira-Spring drive, a family in a Camry in front of us gave up and turned around half-way up. At the parking lot one hiker was getting assistance from random strangers to change the flat tire that greeted her at the end of her hike. Personally I prefer the exit 42 option. I think the couple times I've used it I saved time over the extra driving. I can hike the half mile up through the woods faster than I can drive 7 miles, 3 on highway to exit 45 and 4 uphill back towards exit 42 on dirt road. Alas, not everyone wants to add elevation to their hike.

[zephyr]

[solohiker]

Got it, fixed it, and thanks. Sorry for the confusion.

[hapemask]

I usually aim for less-busy hikes but Trappers Peak was worth the crowds (and starting at 7:30 helps).

Thornton Lake

Trappers Peak

The Pickets were hiding today.

Lower Thornton Lake was melted out but just ~200ft up the others were frozen.

Mount Triumph

Hazy Newhalem

[KascadeFlat]

A two-fer: 7.6.21 - Johnson Ridge with hubs for his annual hike. I haven't taken him up many ridges and he was impressed with the views from Scorpion mountain.

7.9.21 thru 7.11.21 - Enchantments C2C (Colchuck to Colchuck) The powers that be awarded me a permit for Colchuck this year so we decided to test my theory that going in and out via Aasgard is the superior way to see the Enchantments. (I have done the Snow Lake death march and still have nightmares about the last 8 miles). Arrived at the trailhead around 9am on Friday. Found two prime parking spots, quickly assembled our bags and hit the trail. We got to Colchuck around noon and snagged an awesome spot from a group who was leaving to head up into the core. We swam in the lake and ate homemade burritos with lime sour cream.

Saturday we hiked up Aasgard, topping around around 11am. My two companions continued on into the core. I stayed in the upper basin to poke around side trails. They returned from their tour around 4pm to "pick me up" and we headed back down the pass.

The descent from Aasgard was a bit gnarly, as anticipated, but only really bad at the very top section. Once the angle starts to level out around 7000 ft the going became much more doable. IMHO, still better than Snow Lakes. We enjoyed some chicken and risotto for dinner Saturday night, a well-deserved sleep, and a leisurely hike out on Sunday morning.

[BensonM]

Summited Sloan Peak on Saturday. This effort has been documented in loving and exacting detail on every social platform by the 7 other people (old friends and new) who participated in the siege. A beautiful day. The route was in great shape, except for large crevasses above and below our route on the glacier, which we protected with a few pickets. Met John Porter (onehikeaweek.com) at the trailhead, hiked with him until his route diverged, and met again on the summit. We were rewarded with extraordinary views. The shwack on the way out was as schwack as on the way in.