Sure, I like to be high, but let’s keep it legal, so wine & summits just about does it for me.  And to be sure, you have to come down eventually, so the idea is to make it as good as possible.
 
That is where Tiffany comes in; she is like a bedroom meadow in the sky with thick cozy grasses and granite recliners.  You don’t have to feel like you’re camping in a rock quarry to reside above 8000 feet.  But lest yea think this is sounding like Big Rock Candy Mountain, water, or lack thereof, is the rub.  Although they don’t flow with lemonade, there are some cool, fresh springs 1000’ below on the south face; treatment not needed.   Due to a fortuitous snow drift in the lee summit of Tiffany, I only had to haul 3 gallons this trip.  But the carry is pure joy, mostly following an old trail down the south face from the summit; the route is now candied with the color & fragrance of lupines and scarlet paintbrush.
 
The TH at Freezeout pass is at 6520’ and the views breakout in expansive grassy meadows within the first mile.  This is a grazing area so barbed-wire gates, cattle guards, and dried dung are de rigor for the area.  No “slow elk” were spotted however.   
 
There is a Whitebark Pine recovery project going on due to blister rust disease.  I’ve learned it has been around since the 1920s, but the warming climate is favorable to the disease and is squeezing white pines to the upper limit of their biome.
 
Tiffany sure is good for perspective, geographically and philosophically.  Geographically it mediates between the Methow and Okanogan drainages; beyond them respectively is the Cascade mandible some 20 miles distant, and an inland sea of rolling sagelands & wheat fields, where a distinct horizon line yields with finality to sky. 
 
As always, it is a place of introspection, gazing inward at a complex landscape of dreams, desires, and disappointments.  No maps for that disorienting terrain.  But there you are, right in the middle of it all, no matter the weather.
 
The air was clear and cool, with just enough breeze to keep the bugs busy.  It was noteworthy that there were no forest fires to smugger views.  I dayhiked a loop from Whistler pass around the north side of the mountain (N. Fork Mutton Cr.), to Honeymoon Pass then back to the saddle between Little Tiffany and Tiffany proper.  The trail passes through charred forest from a burn back in 2004.  The 2006 fire burned the Bernhardt drainage up to Freezeout ridge.  Not too much forest left in the area.  The tread has been re-engineered and is in good shape. 

Pilgrims numbered about a dozen each day, but solitude reigned after 2p and before 11a.  I did some nightshift photography the first night, hoping to capture some leftover Perseids; saw plenty, but captured few.  There is now an official summit register to supplement the notepad tucked away in the old Osborne firefinder standpipe. 
 
Wildlife: kestrels on the hunt with the furious sound of their wings; mountain bluebirds- electric arcs of dusty blue; ptarmigans and their broods, collecting bugs in golden grasses; a weasel, eluding a falcon in the talus just north of the summit, about 12 inches long, brown with black and a creamy orange belly. 
 
So, it was a good enough high for me.  Wine and food were replaced with as much perspective as I could fit in my over-sized and well-worn Dana. Happy Trails!

I got away with it again, residing at 8242’ without any casualties; no storms threatened to blow the tent off the mountain, or zap us with 100% natural electricity; no pots were whisked off the precipitous NE face. Sure it was cold in the morning, but being on a summit one could always find a seat in the sun after 6a. Another great feature was there were absolutely no biting pests.
 
It should only take an hour to reach Tiffany’s tip-top from 6520’ Freeze out Pass with a full pack, but I volunteered some time to update the monkeywrenching of horse-braided trails on the way up; and Bodhran spent some time cautiously investigating some “slow elk” grazing on the ridge. Another 90 minutes was spent packing 6 gallons of spring water from 1000’ below for our 2 night stay. Five gallons would have been plenty for man and beast.
 
A forest fire sprang to life the first afternoon between Mount McCay and Omak. That blustery night it was a sinister orange glow. By Saturday it had blanketed the whole of the Okanogan valley up to Tiffany summit in the south-westerly breeze. So by staying just west of the summit ridgeline guaranteed fresh air; consequently it was not a bother.
 
Bodhran and I rambled to Rock Mountain via the saddle north of Tiffany summit. From there an old grazing trail leads downward through groves of Larch and charred spars to Honeymoon Pass at 7200’. A cross-country climb on grassy slopes, past more cattle, brought us to the summit. The object of my curiosity was a solar-powered radio relay visible from Tiffany. There is also a register in the summit cairn.
 
Tiffany is an amazingly quiet place considering its easy access and spectacular views. I saw only 5 other groups during the three days. There was plenty of time to ponder various raptors, including a Golden Eagle; or the setting crescent moon, all in magnificent quiet.
 
Tiffany is the last of my regular stops for awhile; time to step off the ribbon of dirt into the unknown. September offers cooler bug-free travel. I am excited, but as always, mindful of the dragons at the edge of the map.

This was a 9 day trek from Irongate to Ross Lake. We encountered some extremely different conditions and I felt it important to make potential users aware. I will discuss the areas we hiked in sections.

Irongate to Bunker Hill: excellent conditions, with typical minor seasonal blowdowns and brush. Water readily available on all parts of this section. Some trail problems after the drop from Quartz Mtn. to the burn area at the east end of the Bunker Hill ridge, mostly just blowdowns.

Bunker Hill to Frosty Pass: conditions varying from bad to brutal. Cairns mark the trail at the Bunker Hill summit. Extensive trail deterioration on the drop from Bunker Hill to the Paysaten River through the burn area. Areas of the trail have sluffed off the side of the mountain, with many blowdowns. There is no water after the small basin on the north side of Bunker Hill to the crossing of Bunker Hill Creek at the bottom. Following the trail is not impossible but can be a challenge. The bridge over East Fork is burned, but there is a log crossing about 100 feet upstream. Pasayten River bridge is burned, but fording the river was not bad, water to just below the knee at our choice about 50 feet upstream from the old bridge location. We were unable to locate the trail on the west side of the old bridge location and the trail is non-existent for most of the valley floor to Soda Creek. Little sign of the old trail, some areas in grass visible. Extensive and dangerous blowdowns, some up to 3 feet in diameter and stacked multiple high. Large areas of blowdowns, up to 100 feet wide. We heard one snag fall as we hiked. No water from the Pasayten ford to Soda Creek. The bark on the fallen trees is burned and not stable. This area was EXTREMELY difficult and dangerous, taking us 8 hours to travel from the Pasayten River bridge location to Soda Creek, about 5 miles. I do not recommend anyone repeat our adventure through this area. It is potentially fatal. Soda Creek also has extensive blowdowns. Water is readily available all the way up Soda Creek, across the Chuchuwateen and up Frosty Creek. All areas are blocked by extensive blowdowns, with areas of the trail difficult to find again after detours. No bridge over Chucuwanteen Creek, but ford is minor. Single log with wire hand cable over the Ashnola River. The climb to Frosty Pass is open and pleasant with water in the basin.

Frosty Pass to Lightning Creek: No water from Frosty pass to Castle Pass. Blowdowns manageable. Water just after Castle Pass prior to the climb to the ridge above Castle Creek. Water in Big Face Creek. Water in the lower third of the climb to Freezeout Ridge, but none after that (except in Elbow Basin) till Three Fools Creek. Stock up unless you are willing to drop into the basin. Blowdowns and brush extensive on the 2400 foot drop to Three Fools Creek and along the trail west to the wilderness boundary. Lost the trail twice on the drop and had to backtrack to find it again.

Lighning Creek to SR-20: typical excellent trail conditions in the Ross Lake NRA. Few blowdowns or brush. Water abundant along the lakeshore.