So, I was sitting around wandering on the internet and listening to music at about 3 in the morning, and then I had to go out to my car for something. Wonder of wonders, the sky was clear and the stars were everywhere, as opposed to the gloomy grayness that had occupied the previous day. So off I went. I'm not really sure why I chose Ruth. I've climbed it three times before. Just something close by that resembled a climb I guess. Arriving at the trailhead at about 5:00, I got out of my car and it was COLD, well at least for July. Very soon after leaving the trailhead, I realized that the cold temps and heavy moisture in the air had conspired to make an extremely heavy dew on everything. Of course this trail hasn't been brushed yet this year. So, within a quarter mile, my bottom half was completely soaked, and my feet were literally sloshing around in my shoes. This nearly constant drenching lasted up to where the trail starts switchbacking toward the pass. Needless to say, I was pretty miserable on the approach. I moved fast though, and continued to do so as I traversed the very snowfree Hannegan Pass and then made my way up the also snowfree very steep climbers trail up toward Ruth Arm. There were only a couple short snowfields to cross on the traverse over to Ruth Arm (should really be more right now, no special gear needed). The arm itself had snowpatches on the north side, but the path itself was snowfree up until it started climbing toward the glacier on the mountain itself. Finally, I took an actual stop to replace my trail runners with mountain boots and to crampon up (not necessary at all, but I just like using them. An ice axe is required though for the 30 degree slope). Although the morning started out mostly clear with bright sun in my eyes at Hannegan Pass, by the time I started up the glacier, some medium level clouds had moved in and the atmosphere was uniquely stark and quite cold, again for early July. The glacier was easy, although some cracks are already starting to open up. They were easy to avoid at the moment, but being alone made me a little uneasy. If you plan on climbing this glacier unroped this year, go now. It will undoubtedly get more broken up than normal this year. Finally, after some weaving, the rocky summit was reached. Pleasently, there was hardly any wind and the light breeze coming from the west could be easily avoided. It was still pretty cold, but without the wind it was totally bearable. The views were amazing of course, heigtened somewhat by the drama of clouds now rising from the valleys. Originally, I had planned a real kick ass day, ascending Ruth, Hannegan, and either Winchester or Goat (if I was feeling particularly ambitious). I made good time to the summit of Ruth (about 3 and a half hours), and started the descent quickly. As soon as I reached the uphill terrain around Hannegan though, I knew for sure that the adrenaline that allowed me to ascend Ruth so quickly was completely gone. It took me forever to even get up Hannegan Peak and I needed to take a nap at the top. By the time I woke up, it was clouding up more and that sealed the fact that I wasn't hiking any more today. It was time to go home and get some sleep. The hike down was uneventful. Thank goodness the brush had dried by that time. Probably because of the cold, bugs were almost non-existant. There are a few washouts on the trail in Ruth Creek valley, but none are difficult to get over. The hiking season is well underway in this area. Go and get it!!

Left the family at home to do a little ""research"" in the North Cascades--one of the perks of being the editor of a local hiking magazine published by a non-profit trails association. Arrived at the Hannegan trailhead early morning on Friday before the 4th of July weekend and only 3 cars were to be seen at the trailhead. The views just keep getting better and better as the trail ascends to Hannegan Pass--Mount Ruth with its massive cap of white snow, Mount Sefrit and scores of other peaks high above the Ruth Creek drainage. Trail is in good shape and mud-free. Heaps of wildflowers along the way--columbine, tiger lily, and salmonberry among them. Quite a few nettles, too--long pants are a good idea for the first couple miles. Hannegan Pass is snow free--and starting to get buggy. Plus, views from the pass itself are a bit lackluster, so decided to head up Hannegan Peak. Hung my food, stashed my heavy pack (bears have been very active in this area, according to the rangers) and bounded up the peak. The faint trail is steep but in good shape and almost completely snow free to the summit. On top, absolutely massive views of some of the craggiest, gnarly, glaciated peaks of the North Cascades. Beyond the pass, the route does a few ups and downs, enters North Cascades National Park (no dogs past here, remember) before skirting the edge of a circular basin prior to Egg Lake and Silesia camps. There are still some relatively good-sized snow patches prior to Egg Lake, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to have an ice ax handy or at least some trekking poles for insurance. Arrived at Egg Lake weary but happy to be in such fabulous country. Had the tiny camp above the crystaline blue lake all to myself. (Crowd control is helped by the fact that the Park Service requires first-come-first-served reservations from the ranger station at Glacier for all overnights in the area). Next day, hoofed it up to the lookout on Copper Ridge (it's a heck of a climb, and hard to believe the elevation is only about 6,200 feet). Be sure to stop in and say hi to Tony, the park service ranger stationed there for the season (not a bad job, considering the views from his summer home). The trail down from the lookout to Copper Lake is about 50 percent under snow cover, but the route on the ridge is fairly easy to spot (just make sure to catch the switchback behind you if you find you've come to what looks like trail's end overlooking Copper Lake). Along the way, spotted a ptarmigan hen with her brood of 10 chicks. She did a valiant job of trying to scare/distract me from her little ones and I gave her a wide berth to avoid stressing her out too much (I can definitely sympathize with the harried and overworked parent!). There are three fine camps at the lake, and when I arrived in late afternoon, the low clouds were lifting the curtain on views to the glaciers of Whatcom Peak. At first light the next morning, skies were clear as glass, and the monstrous, rugged peaks of the North Cascades were out in their finest: Mount Redoubt, Bear Mountain, and Whatcom Peak and the Pickets all being their sublime selves in the distance. Thick shag of western hemlock forest carpets the valley below all the way to the Canadian border and beyond. One note if you're planning to do the return loop down to the Chilliwack River from Copper Lake--ran into a party coming up from there and they reported the trail was extremely brushy and didn't recommend it. But if you're not immune to some bushwhacking, you might give it a try. The cable car further down trail is out of commission, but the ford is apparently doable (but try to do it in the morning, when snowmelt is at its lowest). Skipping the full loop myself, I broke camp after a quick breakfast and savored suberb peak-spotting back at the lookout: Shuksan, Baker, the fang of Slesse, more of the Pickets in the distance. The views are some of the most magnificent I've seen anywhere in the world. Made a relatively quick hike of the 12 or so miles back to the trailhead, arriving back to the car about 2:30. On the return, saw lots of folks out for the day, and the weather was indeed fabulous. Back at the trailhead, the number of cars had blossomed to about two dozen. If it's solitude you're after, definitely go midweek. But even if you only have the weekend free, don't let that deter you from one of the most magnificent trails in the state.

First off, if anyone finds an Olympus camera on Ruth Arm, I managed to lose mine on the descent. Please give me an e-mail at mt_orr@hotmail.com The road is in fine shape other than the ubiquitous potholes. Trail to Hannegan Pass is snowfree. From the Pass it looks like a short snowfield before clearing out on the descent towards Boundary camp. However our path up Ruth Arm was mostly snow-covered. Ascending south from the pass we kicked steps towards the prominent rock point and traversed clockwise around that. From there the route to Ruth is straightfoward, traverse snow/melting out trail to the base of the glacier, then kickstep towards the snowdome, aiming just right (west) of the rock outcropping. The summit is melted out and is a great seat for viewing the area including nearby Icy. The long descent and ascent to Icy detered us from doing this. We'll return when the trail melts out completely facilitating faster travel (no skis). There's 2 nice bivy sites on the summit of Ruth for those so inclined. Overall ~15 mi RT, 4500+ elevation gain, 12 hours RT from TH (probably 2 hours on top naming peaks and talking with others - 6 others on Ruth, one person on Icy) no significant trail problems other than solid snow above the pass. No crevasses open on Ruth Gl yet. also the trail up Hannegan Peak looks melted out until the last ridge, as does the trail to Copper Ridge, though the ridge looks snowcovered

No snow except in gullies until .5 miles ere pass. Followed trail/tracks up to near(?) the pass, settling for a spot with great views of Mt. Ruth. Well-maintained trail follows a glacier-carved valley with high polished rock walls looming across the way.

We left on Monday to spend a week in the north cascades national park but it was shorten to 3 days due to Franze bad knee. So we went in to Hannegan pass via the great trail, an easy 4 miles. From there we went out Ruth arm to a nice campsite by a small pond. Things are very dry as you can imagine and this pond is the only water between Hannegan camp and the Ruth glacier. We woke up early the next day to climb Ruth and made summit by 7:30. Bring crampons as the glacier is almost down to the ice. The crevasses are open but very easy to get around. Once back to the pass Franze rested while I took the hike up Hannegan peak. This trail is also in great shape. Met lots of nice folks the whole time we were in the Hannegan pass area. Most were going up copper ridge. Would like to come back in the Fall. As a bonus the bugs were very minimal.