JasonG

I went up Lewis shortly after Franklin broke through the cornice and saw his tracks. What ever happened to Chuck? I never got the details and have long wondered. Seems like it could have been me. Same with most of these guys. I guess it still might be me one of these days.

Oh interesting @robertm...we were looking at that ridge and wondering about it. But it looked sporty in the conditions we found (and we weren't prepared).

I hope they teach the proper brown falcon techniques. I'd pay for that.

Good point about norms being local in flavor @Stefan! I wonder sometimes if we are in the midst of a new shift in local norms for the mountains? Legal or not won't really matter since enforcement will never be enough to deter people if they view it as their right and perfectly "normal". Those under 30 please chime in so it isn't just old folks yelling about people on their lawn.

Ha! Older and still cranky today, but better rested.

There are many problems in the world caused by too many people, but I don't think flying drones in the wilderness is one of them. Mostly, I think it is a problem of people just not being considerate. It doesn't matter if it is against the law or not. It is just plain inconsiderate to ruin somebody else's day to please yourself and stroke your ego on social media. It is baffling to see people continue with inconsiderate behavior after they have been made aware that what they are doing is impacting the experience of others in the backcountry. I really lament this trend in the past 10 years ago. It seems to be a generational thing, as much as I hate to sound like a cranky old guy. I have yet to see somebody older than me 1. flying a drone in the wilderness. 2. blasting a bluetooth speaker on the trail 3. setting up their tent right next to mine. Is being considerate just a lost art? Or I am really just that old and cranky? Maybe I should start a poll.

I'll give you my dSLR and lenses and let's do it @geosean!

I edited to take out your Gunn photos....

It has been decades since I was up there and back then you could drive the road. I don't remember the trail as that bad. Must have been the bike pushing.

Not anyone prior to us either! Was kind of fun to thrash around and figure out the way. Lots of good veggie pulling.

Is there a link to this?

The wet kiss of fall in the PNW

Trip: Sperry Peak - Standard Trip Date: 11/25/2023 Trip Report: It was a good day to be out and stretch the legs on a classic blue-collar outing. Even better, we had the mountain to ourselves on a beautiful Saturday. There were just enough shenanigans to keep it interesting, but not so many as to detract from the fun. The yin and yang of scrapping up pointy things with a couple of good friends is an excellent reminder that the simple things in life are pretty much all you need. And whiskey. Sperry: Mile High Club: Heading up Headlee: It was solid: @Trent getting some extra work in before we found the correct start (Thanks JGAP!): Vesper and Wolf Peaks: @cfire topping out: North sides of Del Campo and Morningstar: Tahoma: Vesper (note tracks of the Saturday masses): @cfire: @Trent loves blue collar shenanigans: The boyz heading back to Headlee Pass: @Trent at Headless Pass, taking in the end of the day: Gear Notes: Helmet, axe, crampons Approach Notes: Headlee Pass trail. Road is passable by 2wd to TH. Trail snow free to basin between Mile High Club and Sperry. About 2 feet of snow on Sperry and Vesper. Flotation not needed.

Unfortunately, for the average citizen, I think that the battle is lost for places like S. side of Hood, Paradise, Artists Point, WA Pass, etc. (I do hope LEOs continue to try and enforce the rules though). I think you did about what you could and I don't think dialing up the temp. in those interactions will do any good long-term (in places like that). Super disappointing and frustrating though! In more remote/less frequented places, I have gone as far as threatening that if they don't land the drone, I will take the controller and land it for them, pronto. This is typically effective, but not much fun for either party. Of course, they often aren't close enough to directly interact with. In these instances loud booing sometimes works, but that is probably pretty annoying in its own right, for everyone.

https://www.gearrepairmv.com/ Great service, fast turnaround, and quality work. Keep those softgoods out of the landfill and in the mountains!

@therunningdog up at Asulkan this March:

Same on the west side: https://www.heraldnet.com/news/hell-no-to-grizzlies-darrington-locals-give-federal-agencies-an-earful/

I wash my FF down most years and it keeps going for decades!

Running with water, most likely. 40s last night over WA pass.

For sure it isn't @Phil K! I would be going up the South ridge this time....

Yes, the masses like me will return! Need to go up Kyes again at some point....

That is a challenging situation for sure. I shoot in RAW and try and blow the highlights a bit, and underexpose the shadows, then tweak both in post-processing to balance it out. I use Lightroom, which is great for all of the above. Or, you can just use your phone which does it all in real time! But it will never be a photo that you'll want to see on a big screen.

I do hope we get some decent days this year....

Trip: Hadley Peak - Standard NW Ridge Trip Date: 09/30/2023 Trip Report: I had been meaning to scramble Hadley Peak for some time but had never got around to it. Fall seemed ideal and so when @sparverius showed up in town with a day to kill a few weeks ago, we quickly decided on it. I had never been up to Cougar Divide and was surprised by how nice the views were from the road on the way in, and how fast you can get up in the alpine. Very civilized! We had gotten a decently early start this day and so we were alone pretty much after leaving the parking lot, mostly only seeing parties only on our descent. It was a good reminder that when you are out in front kicking steps in fresh snow, even a relatively minor scramble can feel like an adventure. Unfortunately, on the way down, we saw evidence that fat bikers are coming up to Chowder Ridge from Cougar Divide and then going out Skyline Divide, maybe more so now that Skyline Divide Road is closed? Please leave the bikes and your bluetooth speakers at home, drones too (though we didn't see any this day)! OK, I'll stop ranting. Regardless, I was reminded what a fantastic backyard we have here in the North Cascades. So many adventures close to home, and so often so much solitude! Now, for the photos, which always do better than my words..... Kulshan from near the road: Shuksan: @sparverius rambling upwards towards Chowder Ridge: We have Hadley in our sights! Twin Sisters out to the west: This was a pleasant surprise: Colfax, still need to go up there: Looking across a thinly covered Park Glacier: @sparverius coming down very near the summit of Hadley: Alpine Nectar! Lincoln, still need to go up there too: Sound of Music on the exit: Shuksan closing out the day: Gear Notes: ice axe, helmet Approach Notes: Cougar Divide

Nice! Sounds like a good outing. How was Church?