Beautiful overnight camping on point 5930 of Ruth Arm.
The road: Potholed but nothing terrible. We did blow a flat on the way out, but that was because we hit a hidden rock swerving to avoid a pothole.
Parking lot: Maybe 15 spots in the lot, more spots along the road. Nice picnic tables and a bathroom at the trailhead, a couple parties camped by the river.
Crowds: A moderate number of people, but nothing as bad as the more popular hikes in the Mt Baker area. Most people seemed to be doing some part of the Copper Ridge loop or summitting Ruth; we had point 5930 to ourselves for the night and no day hikers came up either.
Trail: 3.5 miles of nice exposed valley hiking, which is great for views but terrible for sun exposure. I would say the last reliable running water source is about 3.5 in - lots of small creeks and mini waterfalls up til this point. Then gentle switchbacks to Hannegan Pass at 4 mi from TH. Turning right towards Ruth will take you over a small knoll to a stagnant pond, and then starts what I think is the hardest part of the hike - a steep, 400ft gain in 0.14 mi section with loose roots and rocks. Going down wasn't fun either, but roots provided nice handholds. Lots of dogs made it up and down with seemingly no problem. At the top of the steep section you get to the base of 5930. Traverse on the nice scree path around the point to the saddle, and then there is a small trail to the right up to the summit of 5930. Turning left will take you up Ruth. There's also a steeper path to the summit of 5930 earlier in the scree traverse that we didn't take.
Campsites: Lots of options for camping. Hannegan Pass Camp, Hannegan Pass itself has room for 1-2 tents, turning left at the junction towards Ruth will bring you to 1-2 camps scattered along the trail before the steep section, as you wrap around the base of 5930 there is a rocky flat area with room for 1-2 tents, our camp on top of point 5930 has one gravel/snow patch for 1-2 tents (no other durable surfaces), and we could see a few parties camping on Ruth Arm. Reports also say a couple bivy spots on Ruth summit.
Bugs: Mosquitoes not bad, but flies and gnats are SWARMING. It was headnet time. They decreased when we got to camp but were relentless on trail.
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