Mount Pugh

Conditions could not have been better. Hit trail at 7:00 AM, cool, comfortable fall weather, with a clear sky and a great forecast for the day. Our group of 6 was pleasantly surprised by how "foot friendly" the trail was leading up to the tree line. Much more so than, say Vesper Peak trail. And the switchback zone from the treeline up to Stujack Pass still had a lot of wildflowers out (especially showy on the way down, since the day warmed in the sun).
This was my first trip up Pugh, and it ranks up as one of my favorites already. Something for everyone. Stujack pass alone is worth the hike. Great views from there. The "knife edge", as they call it, was more beautiful than scary. Just need to be careful of course in a couple of places.
Even the more dicey section where you scramble through the blasted out area is not as intimidating when you get right up to it. It looks worse as you approach it, but up close you see the route and realize it's not as exposed as it looked from a distance. There's a well-placed steel bar to help at one point.
After that, it was good sailing to the top. Got there 11:45 AM. Incredible views 360 degrees. Had a great time identifying peaks and having lunch. On the way down, at the scramble, I did manage to get off route a little and headed down a chute that we finally realized was not right and headed for a cliff. Took a little doing to extricate myself, but managed by working carefully back up. So look carefully. Cairns don't always tell the whole story, and can be interpreted wrongly. Took our time coming down and got back to car about 4:15.