Ruth Arm, Hannegan Pass and Peak & Ruth Mountain — Wednesday, Jul. 6, 2005

North Cascades

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!!