<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/28211146362/in/album-72157670351569232" title="Awesome views from our tent!"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/8735/28211146362_9fbc714ccc_b.jpg" alt="Awesome views from our tent!"/></a> - [Flickr](https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/albums/72157670351569232/) - Distance: 9 miles - 5000ft elevation gain - Area: [[Glacier Peak Wilderness]] I was planning to do Painted Mountain this summer, thanks to some inspiring reports a few years ago. The weather hasn't been great though, so when the weather people forecasted a tiny clear period I was eager to go. Due to work I was only able to leave the city at 3pm, and had to be back at 3pm the next day. So, I decided to maximize the fun we can have and sleep on the summit. Based on earlier reports I was a bit concerned about the rocky section above the lookout with my dog, but it was not a big deal. I took some more detailed photos for other people (see Flickr). The bootpath is fairly easy to follow all the way to 5600ft. It must get some traffic. The forest from 3000-5200 is super boring, but the trail climbs efficiently on pleasant soft needles. There are some snow fields left on the south ridge of Painted, but this day I could get to the summit without walking on snow. Lots of snow still on the continuation of the Painted Traverse and the north face of Skalabats. Not many flowers yet: mostly just glacier lilies. The meadows were not that hard going up, but if the grass is wet it gets much harder on the way down. We went down to Ruby Lake as well, which was fairly brushy. I enjoyed admiring the huge avalanche gully that apparently delivers avalanches all the way over the lake. Bugs were not too bad, but they were present. Due to fairly low temperatures they were just slow and a bit of hand-waving prevented bites. We started at ~5:15pm at the [[North Fork Sauk Trail]]. I was a bit concerned about making it to the summit to enjoy sunset, but we made very good progress and arrived at 8:30pm. Down was also super efficient with the awesome needles and limited blowdowns. We camped on a ledge just below the summit that clearly had been used before for camping as well. It's big enough for a one-person tent, but for bigger tents there is not really a good place. The views from Painted Mountain are just amazing. I will have to go back to enjoy it in broad daylight on a clear day again. The weather never really entirely cleared up, but right at sunset the clouds lowered sufficiently for some views of [[Glacier Peak]], and at sunrise only the valleys were filled up. Clouds make for interesting scenery as well. <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/27698899974/in/album-72157670351569232" title="Glacier Peak"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7742/27698899974_71bc15cde5_b.jpg" alt="Glacier Peak"/></a> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/27699337323/in/album-72157670351569232" title="Liesl enjoying the morning sun in our tent"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/8671/27699337323_dd155aae07_b.jpg" alt="Liesl enjoying the morning sun in our tent"/></a> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/28033528270/in/album-72157670351569232" title="Clouds flowing into the Red Creek drainage"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/8609/28033528270_a9ed5dd292_b.jpg" alt="Clouds flowing into the Red Creek drainage"/></a> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/27699354983/in/album-72157670351569232" title="Bedal Peak"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/8705/27699354983_ed85085bd9_b.jpg" alt="Bedal Peak"/></a> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/27699378633/in/album-72157670351569232" title="Panorama of North Cascades"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7651/27699378633_161778c0f1_b.jpg" alt="Panorama of North Cascades"/></a> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/28211146362/stats/" title="Awesome views from our tent!"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/8735/28211146362_9fbc714ccc_b.jpg" alt="Awesome views from our tent!"/></a>