Late summer in the North Cascades

In this latest installment of photos from my hikes of this past summer, I'm featuring Mount Pilchuck, a day trip I took with a couple of friends in late August. (View the entire album here or by clicking on the image above.) Located about 40 miles northeast of Seattle, the rocky summit of this peak features fantastic views of the North Cascades, including several of the snowy and glaciated dormant volcanoes that characterize this part of the country. To the west, there's also a stunning panorama of Puget Sound, its islands, and the Olympic Mountains on the other side. When you visit Pilchuck on a clear, warm day as we did, the scenery is hard to beat. (Again, these photos were taken in August, as opposed to now, when most of the best views would likely be obscured by thick clouds.)

There isn't much else to say about this hike — hopefully the images speak for themselves. By the way, I do have a purpose in posting these albums apart from simply showing them off. Once they're all up, I plan to share my thoughts on the spiritual significance of experiencing nature in its purest form. It should be very deep. Stay tuned.

Next up in the series: Mount Rainier National Park (taken on Sept. 9) and Mount Baker/Mount Shuksan (taken on Sept. 24).