Mount Pugh — Sunday, Jul. 13, 2014

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

The trail to the tree line is in excellent shape, with only two minor blowdowns along the way. If you feel like getting an early start, there are two places to backpack, one at Lake Metan the other at the tree line. Beyond the tree line, the trail becomes much steeper and difficult to negotiate at times. Stujack Pass, at 3.8 miles in, was the time half way point for me. Just beyond Stujack Pass the trail becomes much more difficult with snow obscuring the trail and no boot prints to follow. During this brief point follow the boot track straight-up on the dirt. After 500-1000 feet of snow the route becomes snow free for the remainder of the trip. The route is easy enough to find and requires only light scrambling. The view from the top is the most majestic I've ever seen from a mountain top, their are countless peaks in every direction from Baker and beyond to Glacier and Rainier on a good day. If you get to this point enjoy, this is one of the most difficult hikes I've ever done but I will be back again. Near the summit I saw a wild cat near the trail, I'm not sure if it was a Lynx or Bob Cat. There are many wildflower near Stujack Pass. I got a late start and began hiking at 1pm and summited at 5:30pm. After 30 minutes on the summit, I turned around and headed down. With a few stops along the way I finally reached my car by headlamp at 9:45pm.