Five and a half years had passed since our bear encounter on Taylor Mountain.

We welcomed the New Year atop Granite Mountain in the crisp, albeit subfreezing, air.

This year I managed to rally two friends to help spice up the typically low-key outing.

Today I took the pup up to Poo Poo Point where he visited for the first time.

I finally discovered the shortcut up to the Powerline Trail behind our neighborhood.

While researching recent outings, I came upon an alternate approach from Olallie State Park.

I first took notice of the two peaks while climbing Burnt Mountain across the Carbon River Valley.

We followed the partly sunny weather forecast to the east of the Cascade crest.

Pup’s and my first time climbing both high points on the same trip.

Pup and I had also climbed the mountain back to back with Dickerman Mountain seven years ago.