Photo Diary: Experiencing Summer at Hannegan Peak

Hannegan Peak is a destination that I’ve walked past multiple times now without truly considering visiting. Hannegan Peak is just one mile and 1,000 vertical feet from Hannegan Pass, a junction I have stood in four times. The first time was when Alex and I were hiking the Copper Ridge Loop in 2019. The second, third, and fourth times were all in 2021 when I was attempting to summit Ruth Mountain (we were successful on attempts one and three). So, for awhile it just seemed that other hikes in that area took precedence.

After a long hike to Sahale, Alex and I were hoping for a more relaxing hike the next weekend. Something that would push us, but didn’t have too much mileage or gain, but also still granted us beautiful views. Luckily, Washington is full of hikes that meet this criteria. We had debated a few different hikes in the Mt. Baker Wilderness area but kept coming back to Hannegan Peak. Ruth Mountain is one of the more photogenic mountains and Hannegan Peak would give us front row seats to her broad face turning pink at sunset. It was settled: We were going to Hannegan Peak. We invited our friend Andrew and his pup to join us. Since the entirety of this trail are outside the confines of the national park proper, dogs are allowed.

Sunset and sunrise were every bit as incredible as I had hoped. Alex and I had witnessed a few sunsets from Ruth Mountain and knew how beautiful this gets during golden and blue hours, so this came as no surprise, but the light we experienced still blew me away. The mountains glowed orange, low clouds burned pink, and true alpenglow appeared after it seemed the show was over to paint the mountains pink. The experience was exactly what we were looking for!