March 2, 2008, North Star Mtn, 8096'

Glacier Peak Wilderness is truly a wild place and delivered major goods this past wkend.  After a 2600' warm-up Friday afternoon, and a 10 1/2 hour day Sat in and out of new snowfall on Buckskin and Tinpan Mtns we were treated to a cold clear morning and decided to make a one day run all the way up Railroad Crk Valley, past Heart Lk, and up to the summit of North Star Mtn.  Firm snow made for quick travel up valley and we took a short break at the lake before hitting the 4000' climb up North Star.  The summit and surrounding peaks were in and out of wispy clouds/fog making for a rather surreal experience about as alone and far from anywhere as I've ever been.  The summit was a short, icy, rock scramble with killer views.  Oh, and the snow from 4000' was several inches new which grew steadily as we climbed to 18-24" on top.  Amazingly there was no wind effect even up at 8000' and this made for a most spectacular ride of 2000' down the upper bowls, and another 2000' past Larches and down the widely spaced glades all the way to the valley bottom.  Before heading out we took another nice break in the warm afternoon sun reveling in the amazing amount of terrain covered in such a short time.