Frank McCracken
Backpacking
Successful
Circumnavigation of Mac Peak to tag two seldom scrambled summits.
A great trip, great views, great people.
The group enjoyed hiking the trail along the shore of beautiful Coldwater Lake. The day provided both the last of the summer wild flowers and hints of early fall color. The lunch stop was at a sandy beach on the north end of the lake.
We squeaked in this excellent hike before the rain with no wind, perfect temps, and no one else on the trail. A very enjoyable day with a fun group on this seldom used trail!
There’s a large variety of activities that can be led out of this destination. i.e. there’s rock gardening to the west or you can paddle less than 4 nautical miles to the east and experience SK-II through SK-V conditions which gives a variety of planned activities. It's excellent place to perform equivalency skills.
Extremely enjoyable climb of one of a truly classic big wall route.
Beautiful evening for dinner by the falls.
Last of Olympia Wednesday evening/early afternoon paddles with fair weather, some clouds, beautiful sunset, blue heron, seals, eagles, sea otter and wild red and yellow breasted kayakers.
We hiked the Little Wenatchee River trail route with 3,000 ft of elevation gain . The trail is in good condition with the exception of a few logs . The view from the lookout site was great of North Cascades Peaks. Our hikers were outstanding and we had an enjoyable time.
In April, traveled to Nepal to trek to Everest Base camp, then climb both Lobuche Peak and Island Peak.
Horribly rutted road to the trailhead and short scramble, but the views into the Enchantments are gorgeous.
A successful climb of Golden Horn but not Tower Mountain
Successful climb of Silver Star Mtn via Burgundy Col.
The trip was cut short do to an Olympic rain storm. The trip was a one night trip with a long 14 mile last day as we explored the upper basin before hiking out in the rain.
Don't trust good weather reports! We were turned around at high camp due to a freezing rain storm and high winds.
A beautiful (and challenging) one day traverse in the Olympics rain shadow, with beautiful alpine lakes, meandering ridge crests, and commanding views in all directions.
The Mountaineers hike yesterday to Gladys Divide was cancelled due to only one participant. The leader and I decided to do it as a private trip, and it was fabulous!
![DSCF2067[1].JPG](https://www.mountaineers.org/activities/routes-places/thornton-lakes-trappers-peak/images/dscf2067-1.jpg/@@images/20140e73-d0e0-462c-b06b-c3058a8e625a.jpeg "DSCF2067[1].JPG")
Great scramble in the North Cascades, about 2 hrs 15 minutes from Seattle. The first 4 miles is all trail and a obvious boot path leads to the summit, some exposure and a little scramblesque in places.
Successful climb lead by mentored leader Tad Englund.