Ruth Mountain: We slept at the trail head Friday night to try and get an early start on Saturday. Well, we did get on the trail by about 7:15 or so. The way to Hannegan is very gentle. Beyond Hannegan, there was no problem picking up the 'climbers trail'. Just after Hannegan, there is a brief scramble up a steep Heather/scrub covered slope. It's a little loose, but not too bad (probably kind of bad if you're carrying a heavy over night pack. At the top of this slope, there is a ledge at 5500 ft. This part of the trail is described as being a little treacherous if covered with snow because it traverses over a band of cliffs. No snow this weekend, however, and the trail was straight forward through scree. There is an interesting formation here. Directly above the cliff band there is a minor peak. The rock on the peak has a cleft near the top. The scree spreads out in a fan from this notch - quite impressive. After traversing below this peak, the arm of Ruth is gained. The arm is rock and meadow all the way to the Ruth glacier. The glacier was reasonably soft, but most people were using crampons (the conditions were borderline, with my crampons 'balling up' from time to time). The route was moderate with not much crevasse danger. Note: When viewed from the arm, the slope looks much, much steeper and hazerdous than it actually is. The only potential problem would be from bad weather (a half dozen wands would be a good idea). The summit is a 40 foot pile of scree with fabulous views of Shuksan's Nooksak Cirque, Icy Peak, Mt. Challenger, and the Pickets. Highly recommended, especially for someone wanting to cut their teeth on glacier travel.

We hiked up the trail to Hannegan Pass Saturday,in slightly deteriorating weather. That trail isin good shape except could use some brushing.Blueberries and a few remnants of salmonberriesare out along the way. At Hannegan Pass, we turnedright to follow the climber's path to Mt. Ruth.At this time of year the path is easy to follow.It ascends very steeply for 500' vertical, but otherthan major huffing and puffing carrying our glaciergear it's not impossible. The rest of the route tothe glacier is straightforward, and very scenic. Saturday night, the long great weather patternchanged to winds and rain (nah, it doesn't rainin the North Cascades in August, does it'!!!). Sowe elected to leave the summit for a better weather day.Reports from people who camped at the col betweenRuth and Icy was the route is in good shape, withno impassible areas on the glacier. They electednot to climb Icy Peak as they had whiteout conditions. On the hike out, we got soaked from the vegetation along the trail. But fun anyway!

Last year I walked this 10.4 mile roundtrip of a trail. This year I decided to bike the first 3.6 and walk the last 1.6 to Goat lake. This is the only 'trail' in the Darrington Ranger District where a bike is allowed on any part. (The first part is an old logging road, wide, flat, and fairly level) The first section is easily navigable. Only after it becomes a real trail do the mudholes and blowdowns start. There is nothing major, mostly ankle deep, soft mud. There is a whole lot of walking involved in reaching this gorgeous lake. It is totally worth it. Definitely leave the trail to see the waterfall about 150 feet below the outlet. I saw only three decent campsites and a couple of semi-flat spots. As one group of boyscouts was leaving, another was arriving. Plenty of overnight use here. The lakeshore trail quickly degenerates into bushwacking. Too darn many people to encourage wildlife encounters. While there are signs for lakeside toilets, I was not smart enough to find either one.

The North Cascades - Here are two routefinding suggestions: When dropping from the saddle S of Ruth do not get into the deeply-incised gully on the right. Rather downclimb the left shoulder and then continue straight on over the knob in the direction of the ridge connecting Ruth to Icy. The easy gully to the summit of Icy is not obvious after rounding the SW corner of the peak. What looks obvious is one gully too far right.

THE TRAIL FROM THE PARKING LOT HAS BEEN CLEARED SOME WHAT. OTHER WISE IN GOOD SHAPE TO HANNEGAN PASS, THE FLIES YOU WILL LOVE THE FLIES TAKE TIME AND ENJOY THEM.