Got to the trailhead at noon on a Saturday and got a spot in the lot as someone was leaving. About half a dozen cars on the road, all parked responsibly. Trail was in great condition and folks doing trail maintenance did a nice job regrading a section. Gradual climb up to Hannegan Pass, and steeper (but not as bad as I expected) up to Hannegan Peak. Gorgeous wildflowers and views of Ruth and the valley all the way up. From the top, 360 views of the North Cascades and into Canada. Only Baker was hiding in clouds. One annoying bee but otherwise no bugs. The advice that the vegetation makes this trail feel hot and humid is spot on. It was barely 70° but felt so hot. Luckily loads of water was flowing to splash your face and filter refills - the last place to do so easily on the way up was at Hannegan Camp.

I've been eyeing the Hannegan Pass trail for a few years but somehow never got to it. I decided to finally check this off my list this past weekend.

Road, Trailhead & Parking

The road to the trailhead was good but I've never been on it before so I have nothing to compare it to. But it's one of the best forest service roads I've been on. The parking lot was very full on an overcast Saturday but there were more spots along the road. Everyone was parked properly! I didn't use the outhouse on Saturday but when I used it on Sunday, it was out of toilet paper.

The Hike

The trail was very well-maintained. The first mile was very well graded and soon the trail opens up to the valley. It got dusty and slightly rocky at times but not too bad. It got really warm hiking in this section - I think it was the plants. This section was one of my favorite type of trail because you essentially get a view the entire time. There were a mix of smaller and larger streams and that was good for my dog to hydrate. I carried 1.5 liters of water but didn't feel the need to refill until Hannegan Camp.

The trail amps up a little bit before Hannegan Camp and consistently gains elevation until you reach the junction to Boundary Camp and Hannegan Peak. It continues to climb and the trail becomes more rugged. Poles were helpful on the way up and down with a heavy pack. We got intermittent views of the surrounding area but Ruth Mountain was always almost visible, although not fully. The top of Ruth was mostly cloud-covered.

Wildflowers were abundant in the last mile between the junction to Boundary Camp and Hannegan Peak and all the way up to the peak! 

Camp

I wasn't feeling overly ambitious so my initial goal was to camp at Hannegan Camp and day hike up to Hannegan Peak. The weather was also looking a little iffy. But Hannegan Camp was rather full - filled with overnight folks that might be setting up basecamp for climbing Ruth or maybe they wanted to be close to a water source. We were planning to camp further so I filled up my water and took 5 liters with me. The pack was heavy but it was hard to know whether there would be any reliable snowfields up top (there were some but they were dirty).

We pushed forward and thought about setting up camp near Boundary Camp but after chatting with two gals that just came from the peak, we were convinced that we should push on. We made it up to the peak, a lot of the areas were still snow covered but they were not on the main trail. We finally got to the top but a lot of the prime spots were already taken. We headed further past the peak and to the left and found a nice area with a tiny bit of tree coverage which was great because we felt almost no wind while we were hanging out.

The sunset was actually amazing up top and I witnessed my first ever real cloud inversion! The cloudy conditions actually made sunset quite epic and the nearby mountains played peekaboo all day/night with us. I thought it was absolutely worth it to camp up here.

After a great day climbing Ruth Mountain the day prior, and since our Icy Peak Traverse plans were nixed due to weather, we made plans to hike up to Hannegan Peak. 

A restless night at camp due to the bugs, and since I decided not to use my air mattress in my tent, I could've slept better. But that was a personal choice due to laziness. 

We got our start around 7:30am and made quick work up to Hannegan Peak. The trails is clear, very easy to hike on except for the occasional rocks. It was a pretty busy trail with many parties making their way up to the peak. 

There were some views here and there as cloud cover came and went. But for the most part, it was pretty socked in. The hike back down to camp was uneventful. 

We broke camp and hit the trail- four mile slog. We were at the trailhead by 1:30pm. 

Pretty amazing two days in the Cascades with my favorite guide company- Cascade Mountain Ascents! 

Total Mileage over two days: 24

Total vert over two days: 6,400

The road to Hannegan pass trailhead is in very good condition there are a few large potholes that could wake up anyone who is not paying attention, but they are easily avoided. When I arrived at the trailhead at 4:30am the parking lot nearer to the trailhead was almost full. The wildflowers on the top half of the Hannegan pass trail are in prime or near prime condition, I arrived at the pass at just after 6:30. The gully leading to the traverse around pt 5930 was muddy and wet with a runoff stream running down it, this stream is coming off a snowfield above the gully and is the last running water on route. The traverse is nearly melted out, but there are a couple lingering snowfields that will probably be gone in a week or so. Ruth Arm is snow free until just below the glacier, I wore running shoes up until this point. I put my boots on and started up the glacier which is still in good condition. Snow conditions on the way up were very good, firm enough to kick secure steps, but no crampons necessary. There are a few small crevasses just starting to open up, however they are not particularly close to the route. I reached the summit of Ruth Mt. at 10:02am. I had originally planned on traversing to Icey peak, but it was already getting hot and I wasn't moving as fast as I'd hoped. So instead I scouted out the descent towards Icey for a future visit and took a 20-30 minute break on the summit before heading down. On the way down the snow on the upper half of the glacier was still fairly firm and the snow on the lower half had softened up nicely for plunge stepping. I arrived back at the trailhead just after 2:30pm for a car to car time of 10 hours 1 minute. Gear brought and used running shoes, boots, ice axe, trekking poles, helmet.

We arrived at 9 and there was plenty of parking available in both lots. The road is excellent for a Washington trailhead road. Bathroom clean.  Trail is in great condition; recent work was evident.  Flowers spectacular.  We hiked to the peak—once you leave the pass the trail is steeper and slower going, but it’s worth it for the views from the summit.  It took us 3 hours to get up and 2 3/4 to get down, and we’re old folks.  Few bugs.  One small snow field near the top.