Finally got a chance to check out the North Cascades on this side of the border, in EC Manning Park (just a few miles from the June outings on the US side).
I did the two main loops that make up the
Frosty Mountain 50k race route. Definitely a nice alpine course with lots of climbing!
The trails all are in great shape with only a few patches of snow, but not on any super steep areas (two sections on the Frosty ridge trail before the summit junction and some long, flat areas in the larch meadows). The ridge to the summit is clear and all of Skyline is as well (though there are blowdowns from previous seasons on both sections of Skyline).
The best part, besides the views, was soaking in the
Similkameen River at the trailhead: it was ice cold and I only lasted seven minutes until I couldn't feel anything below my waist.
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| Frosty Mountain trail, after the PCT junction. |
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| On the ridge toward Frosty, mile 7 (starting from Windy Joe TH). |
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| Looking up toward the 2,408m (7,900ft) summit on Frosty. |
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| Mountains galore, looking from northwest (r) to south (l). |
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| Frosty summit. |
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| Skyline 1 trail; Hozomeen in the center background. |
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| Donation to the trail gods; need to start watching where I'm going... |
That's a monster run. You're going to be so ready for white river...just take that taper seriously!
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