Sandwiched between Lindeman Lake to the west, Flora Lake to the east and a much larger Chilliwack Lake to the south, Flora Peak is fine and easily accessed objective with outstanding 360-degree views. At just 13 kilometers round-trip, most of it on a well-established trail, and about 4600 feet of gain, it can best be described as "low hanging fruit" for the peakbagging set and their four-legged companions alike! Starting from the parking area off Chilliwack Lake Road, the trail climbs up though forest before traversing Flora's south slopes and from where the first views overlooking Chillwack Lake are had. Flora Pass comes a short distance later, where one leaves the main trail for a climber's path that continues off to the left (north). A bit of steeper hiking here, in my case through some lingering snow patches leads to the large summit area.

Great views as mentioned, particularly of Chilliwack Rivery Valley and the Welch-Foley group to the W and NW. The peaks along the east flank of Silverhope Creek from Hope Mountain to Silvertip showing up nicely as well. Of course, the real attraction is the view south and SW of the peaks and valleys both within and bordering the North Cascades National Park. Too many to mention here, so please enjoy the pics and see if you can identify them all!

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Rhododendron Mountain is a sprawling massif just under 6 kilometers as the crow flies from its taller neighbor Mount Ipsoot. The peak first piqued my interest whilst heli-skiing in the area back in 2015. I had another opportunity to be enamoured of Rhododendron's majesty from Sugarloaf Mountain some years later, mesmerised by its sheer North Face complete with hanging ice and glaciers. That same year from the summit of Ipsoot I spied what looked to be a viable approach to the peak from the south, so when reports began surfacing the following year of parties successfully reaching the summit from this side, my ears immediately perked up! The various reports described the approach as a reasonable day trip starting from newer logging branches off the Rutherford FSR, albeit one that is dependent on a decent spring snowpack to help subdue the brush on a still tedious ~4-kilometer-long up n' down traverse. This traverse ends at a prominent saddle just below a subsummit I have informally named Pk. 2260 - a point that marks the beginning of the vast Rhododendron summit plateau.

"Pk. 2260" is also relevant for it's as far as I managed to get on this day. Leg cramps no doubt caused by dehydration and fatigue thanks to several kilometers of plowing through wet cement-like snow with my ancient and altogether far too short snowshoes did me in. Barely made it up the first steep pitch up from the saddle and limped on over to the highpoint while Wes and Finn continued to Rhododendron proper. Views still satisfactory from here particularly of the mighty Ipsoot across the way as well as a large glacier valley stretching away to the north. That'll have to do I s'pose! Decided to slowly start back down on my own without waiting for the others, reversing the damned traverse now across slopes littered with fresh wet slides thanks to the strong afternoon sun. Spent some quality time with my mosquito friends back at the truck waiting for the two to return from their successful summit bid, sunburnt but clearly quite stoked (I've included some shots of theirs from after we parted ways).

All-in-all, I have mixed feelings about this one. Compared to Ipsoot, Rhododendron falls short in several respects. Yes, it is indeed striking from the north, but kinda a bore from the south. Not quite motivated enough yet to go back for the grand slog to the summit proper. Maybe someday, but don't hold your breath...

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Had a concert at The Gorge to attend and decided to tack on a few days at either end to tramp around my former Eastern Washington stompin' grounds! The desert-like expanse immediately east of the Columbia River known as the Channelled Scablands is a geological marvel which never ceases to amaze with its stark contrast to the lush temperate rainforest and glaciated mountain ranges to the west and rolling dunes of loess to the east. This is a tortured, yet uniquely beautiful landscape forged deep in the Earth's mantle by ancient lava flows and subsequent flooding of cataclysmic proportions. From touring the engineering marvel that is the Grand Coulee Dam to rock climbing at Banks Lake and Frenchman's Coulee or kayaking Deep Lake near Dry Falls, there's a lot to see and do here. Sheesh! If those words aren't worthy of a visitor's pamphlet of the type one typically finds in motel lobbies or car rental agencies, I don't know what is!

Our agenda included sightseeing and the requisite wine tasting along the Columbia near the concert venue, hiking at Ancient Lakes, exploring the Potholes Reservoir area and beholding the stunning waterfall and gorge at Palouse Falls. Didn't quite make it as far east as Pullman this trip, so the nostalgia of college-era Sergio will have to wait for another time! Enjoyed our final evening of "van life" along the Snake River before the rain arrived to hasten our long day's drive back home. Go Cougs!

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Left the soggy Pacific Northwest behind for warm and sunny Arizona. With a mobile basecamp courtesy of Escape Campervans, we spent a couple weeks touring about the southern and central portions of the state, bagging peaks, national and state parks, and generally soaking-in an early dose of Summer! On the agenda was a mix of easy hikes, walks and sightseeing, culminating with the state highpoint, Mount Humphreys. Being late April, we hoped to, and mostly succeeded in avoiding the worst of the notorious heat that usually arrives by May. Along the way, we encountered temperatures mostly in the 70's and 80's, some 90's and surprisingly some patchy snow up high on Wrightson Peak, not to mention a still mostly snowbound Mount Humphreys.

South of Phoenix, where we went first, our itinerary included Picacho Peak and State Park picacho picacho picacho picacho picacho picacho picacho picacho picacho picacho picacho picacho picacho picacho picacho picacho picacho picacho followed by Kitt Peak National Observatory kitt kitt kitt kitt kitt kitt kitt kitt kitt and Wrightson Peak. wrightson wrightson wrightson wrightson wrightson wrightson wrightson wrightson wrightson wrightson wrightson wrightson wrightson wrightson wrightson wrightson wrightson wrightson wrightson We had designs on climbing the iconic Baboquivari Peak but nixed those plans shortly before departing YVR to avoid packing along the extra climbing gear necessary to safely ascend the peak. Kinda regret that decision, but we would have been strapped for time in completing some of our other objectives had we gone for it anyway. It'll be there for when we inevitably come back for round two! Heading back north, we spent a day exploring Tucson Mountain Park and Saguaro National Park (west) saguaro saguaro saguaro saguaro saguaro saguaro saguaro saguaro saguaro saguaro saguaro saguaro saguaro saguaro saguaro leaving a hike up Wasson Peak for another time as it was already quite hot out. Then off to Valley of the Sun for a scorcher of a hike up the highest in the Superstition Mountains, Superstition Peak. superstition superstition superstition superstition superstition superstition superstition superstition superstition superstition superstition superstition superstition superstition superstition superstition superstition superstition superstition superstition superstition superstition superstition superstition superstition Continued north to Sedona next, bagging Bear Mountain, bear bear bear bear bear bear bear bear bear bear bear bear bear bear bear bear bear bear bear a peak with arguably the best views of the Red Rock area Sedona is famous for. Up to Flagstaff after Bear to bag Mount Humphreys, humphreys humphreys humphreys humphreys humphreys humphreys humphreys humphreys humphreys humphreys humphreys humphreys humphreys humphreys humphreys humphreys humphreys humphreys humphreys humphreys hiking on snow from the moment we left the trailhead! Only party out on this day, so I assume most leave it for later in the season.

With all our primary objectives out of the way following our ascent of Humphreys, we decided to take it easy and continued east to check out Petrified Forest National Park. petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified petrified Didn't quite know what to expect, but boy are we sure we made the time to visit! Highly recommended if you haven't yet been! With our return to Vancouver fast approaching, we made the long drive back to the Phoenix area via Mogollon Rim and Salt River mogollon mogollon mogollon mogollon mogollon mogollon mogollon mogollon mogollon before calling it a night at Lost Dutchman State Park. Ducked in for a couple pints at the pub at Goldfield Station just across the street and quietly began scheming a hike up The Flatiron. It's impossible to miss from the patio, the peak and its many towers rises prominently from beyond the campground. But that too will have to wait for next time, as it was getting uncomfortably hot out by this point and we had plans for a short rip up Piestewa Peak piestewa piestewa piestewa piestewa piestewa piestewa piestewa piestewa piestewa piestewa piestewa piestewa piestewa piestewa piestewa piestewa piestewa piestewa piestewa the next day as it was. All-in-all, a banger of a trip through the uniquely beautiful AZ countryside. Can't think of a better shoulder season getaway than this!

The highest peak on the east-to-west trending ridge at the headwaters of both Hunter and Sowerby creeks, Sowerby Peak (AKA Barr East) is a somewhat obscure peak with surprisingly good views. It is clearly visible from the Trans-Canada Highway near Chilliwack as well as several neighboring summits including those of the Cheam Range from Cheam to the west to Conway at its eastern end, Isollilock Peak, Wells Peak and Mount Grant. Access is by way of the Hunter Creek FSR and Hunter 5300 FSR branch. The approach starts from the base of the north spur that bisects the ridge roughly at the midpoint between Mount Barr and Sowerby Peak. It is ideally attempted during the Spring shoulder season with a decent snowpack to subdue the bush on the forested slopes leading up from the end of the FSR to the crest of the aforementioned spur. How far one can drive up depends on the severity of the washouts that are present or where large boulders may be blocking. Either way, it wasn't more than a handful of kilometers to road's end from where I was forced to park with patchy snow starting just beyond.

Left the road at a switchback and proceeded up along the edge of a cutblock reaching open forest soon thereafter. I was following tracks by this point, and the snow was already quite punchy in the morning sunshine, although firmer once in the trees. A relatively short but steepish slog leads up to the crest, with views opening up of a large cirque below Mount Barr's impressive North Face. Now wearing snowshoes, I proceeded along the spur, bypassing a lesser bump by traversing snow slopes on the right to reach a saddle just beyond. Encountered a fellow solo-hiker returning from Sowerby at this spot, exchanged a few words and then went our respective ways. The remaining push to the main Barr-Sowerby ridge follows the aesthetic upper-spur with nice views now both to the left and to the right. Reached the crest in short order, then turning left I proceeded towards Sowerby proper. Some minor ups n' downs getting there, but overall, an enjoyable snowy ridge romp!

Fantastic views from up top, including those of all the peaks mentioned above! Nice to see Jones (Wahleach) Lake and the Fraser Valley from a different perspective. From the Chehalis Range to the NW, Old Settler and Co. to the north and peaks near or within Manning and Silver Skagit parks to the east, I was quite pleased with the scenery. The highlight of course was the view south towards the North Cascades and Cheam Range, but I've raved enough about all that by this point and so will just leave it at that. About 3.5 hrs up, :30 up top and about 6.5 hrs round trip - doesn't get much more chill than that!

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