Loaded up with cached food, spikes, and all my backpacking gear for an upcoming PCT trip with my son. The idea was to carry everything myself and see how it felt.
The day started with a steep climb in smoky conditions, but thankfully the smoke cleared higher up. I caught up with a girl in a magenta jacket who decided to take the ridge on the north side of Black Mountain instead of the usual sidehill traverse. I followed her route, and it turned out to be pretty spicy with some serious exposure.
The north side of Black still had snowfields and slabs. I took the leftmost couloir, which ended up being a good choice.
Progress was slow as I kept slipping on the steep grass so I was taking conservative choices.
Rain rolled in after Red Pass, and the PCT looked very tempting. I seriously considered skipping White Mountain, but pushed on to complete the full traverse. There were no views, but honestly it wasn't bad at all. The ridge isn't very rugged, and without the extra weight it was actually enjoyable.
Unfortunately, my feet got soaked, and the run back wasn't nearly as fun once they started getting torn up.