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.

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.

Today pup and I finished off our Thanksgiving week hiking streak on one of my favorite mountains by Snoqualmie Pass.

While waiting for mountain pass conditions to improve, yellow pup and I spent another day out east.

After seeing the late arrival of rain in the forecast, I figured we go for a walk in the city.

Pup and I took advantage of another day of gorgeous weekend weather by visiting this new destination past Kendall Katwalk.

In retrospect, we could have included Tucquala Peak as part of the Nursery Peak climb.