Mount Pugh - Northwest Ridge, November 2002
It's been just under a week since Tom and I climbed Snowking Mountain and this great weather still shows no signs of letting up. Ok, this is definitely not normal and we're destined for droughts later this summer...but, all this great weather has really extended the summer/fall climbing season for me and for now I'm definitely not complaining. So with bellies still full of turkey and ham from Thanksgiving dinner, Scott, Craig, Jerry and I set out for a casual climb of Mount Pugh. We found our turn off the Mountain Loop Highway onto FSR 2095 to be already closed for the season and so parked the truck across the road and prepared for the 1.5 miles of road hiking in order to reach the trailhead (just after 2nd switchback).
Jerry and I established an impressive pace for the first 1.5 miles of trail for some silly reason and reached the somewhat uninspiring Lake Metan in no time. We waited briefly for Scott and Craig who were close behind us before continuing up the trail towards the avalanche slopes below Stujack Pass. We reached Stujack Pass and lo and behold, there was snow on the north side. It's almost December for Christ sakes and we're hiking around in shorts and t-shirts! (more...)
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