2008-7-12 Ruth Mtn

Went up the summer route and skied down the same way, all on skis except for a 10 meter carry over some rocks; skiable snow stopped right at the trail turnoff to the Hannegan camps.  Ruth summit napping conditions are snow-free but sharp.  Extended north face ski route looked like it still goes, but I had people and a dog to keep track of so I passed.  My friend playing with his new crampons was admonished by the North Cascades Fashion Police for wearing them in soft corn.  The dog drank half of my water (~1.5 liters apiece).  No biting insects on the trail! (yet)

Road condition:
The only difficulty to speak of are three very small creek washthroughs (~1m wide, ~0.3m deep, very little water) in quick succession.  I drove over them easily with a Subaru Forester (medium-clearance).  I think a low-clearance vehicle can get over them but some minor scraping may occur.