We left the parking lot shortly after noon. The cool temperatures and partly cloudy skies made for a comfortable hike to our high camp at 8,000’. Clouds formed and a rain shower could be seen to the west as we made our camp next to a small glacier fed creek. The forecast had called for a slight chance of thunderstorms and we got front row seats for some fairly close lightning strikes as we ate our dinner. Rain chased us into our tents, where we sat/napped for an hour or two. The skies cleared and a full moon rose in the east. It was a joy camping high on the mountain on that clear windless night.

The following morning we were up by 4:30 a.m. and climbing by s 5:15 a.m. I was surprised at how little snow was on the climbing route. I noted that what little snow was there was unusually hard. The last 500 feet to the false summit were climbed over rocky ground. Climbers were encouraged to traverse while ascending to minimize rock fall for those below. We made slow but steady progress arriving at the summit very close to our target time. We enjoyed a well-deserved rest on the summit and I was intrigued by how much of the mining shack was visible due to the lack of snow.

Cumulus clouds were building to the east of the summit and they hastened our retreat down the mountain. Assistant leader, Brad Tedrow, led the group back down. The normally awesome glissade was abbreviated and more hazardous due again to the lack of snow. Haydar Kutuk was nick named the "Flying Turk" when he gained speed over a particularly icy section and became airborne.

We rested for 30 minutes after arriving at our high camp then packed up and hiked out. We ate dinner, had huckleberry pie and ice cream and passed out summit certificates at the Bear Creek Café in Trout Lake. The group arrived back in Salem shortly after 9 p.m.