Hannegan Pass and Peak, Ruth Arm & Ruth Mountain — Monday, Jun. 30, 2003

North Cascades > Mount Baker Area

Decided to try an easier peak with a little bit of glacier travel for practice. Got to the trailhead a little late, 10:00 AM. After a brief rain shower, the weather opened up for a little while. The trail to Hannegan pass is in good shape. A few muddy spots, but mostly snow-free until the top. This is a great valley hike to high meadows and a camp. The wildflowers along the trail are opening up nicely. The heather at the top is still mostly under snow, but it won't be long. No bugs! Is it really July? From the pass the way was on snow for the remaining 2 miles and 2,000 vertical feet. Route finding wasn't too bad, although it began to snow (July 1!) at about 5,800 feet. From 6,000 feet up, the way was on a glacier. We saw no crevasses, but roped up anyway to be on the safe side. There is some brief exposure in places. Visibility became limited until just below the summit, then things opened up nicely. Views included Nooksack Cirque on Shuksan, and Mt. Challenger. Could not find the summit register. Oh, well. I guess we'll have to come back again sometime.