Photos from this trip can be found here.

Today turned out to be the only sunny day in the week’s forecast. On the spur of the moment, pup and I got in this short climb in mid-afternoon. Located just outside of the tiny community of Liberty, the views on this insignificant high point made up for the short stature.

Shortly after turning onto the muddy NF-111, I parked the car before the “private property” sign. We left the road immediately and started scrambling up the brushy slopes northeastward.

Photos from this trip can be found here.

Once we attained the southwest ridge, rest of the climb to the summit was fairly quick and straightforward. We stayed on the ridge crest the entire time and crossed NF-117 once.

A short break on the summit, then we continued east and came upon NF-123 with snow patches. Full snow coverage at the next road junction with NF-116. Snow had turned into slush in the warm afternoon, and it wouldn’t be much longer before everything melted away.

Photos from this trip can be found here.

Soon as we got onto Snowshoe Ridge, we turned around and walked right back to Flag Mountain summit. I wanted to take advantage of the remaining daylight to savor the views.

Back on the windy summit, we enjoyed views of Table Mountain and Lion Rock to the east, Stuart Range and Teanaway peaks to the north, the tip of Mount Rainier in the distance south, and the tiny community of Liberty right beneath our feet.

Access: NF-111
Gear: none