Went in feeling sore and heavy after maximum effort on Bandera FKT two days before, but trying to squeeze the most possible out of the last of summer.
Universe seemed to be telling us not to do it in the first couple hours: Slipped on a log and ended up head-down in a creek, then got stung by a swarm of wasps partway up the steep ascent, then came upon baby bears on the trail with no mama in sight and had to wait it out for a while before continuing (playing loud dubstep to announce our arrival).
The choss gully near the summit, both up and down, slowed us down a lot; it's pretty heinous without snow cover. Loose, unstable, and honestly gave the Cascadian Couloir on Stuart a real run for its money in terms of unpleasantness and instability of large rocks.
The steep descent trail + run back to TH seem to go on forever with the overgrown brush and 50+ blowdowns.
All that said, it was an incredible day overall. Zero smoke, clear skies, great temps, and the wildlife was so lovely: unbothered grouse, multiple bears, mountain goats, pikas, and, of course, the wasps.
Glad to have put in this effort, the Pickets are epic🙂