- Buckner Mountain, also commonly known as Mount Buckner, is a high-elevation peak located in the North Cascades of Washington. Standing at ~9112’ elevation, Buckner Mountain is the highest point of Skagit County and the sixth-highest county highpoint (CoHP) in Washington. The peak is considered an “Apex” county highpoint, one of the 20 most technically-demanding CoHPs to summit in the United States outside of Alaska. In fact, Buckner Mountain is considered the 17th-most technically-demanding CoHP in the lower 48 States and the 5th-most technically-demanding CoHP in Washington, behind Bonanza Peak in Washington’s Chelan County but ahead of Big Horn in Washington’s Lewis County.
- North Cascades (summitpost.org)
“I have roamed many foreign parts my boys, and many lands have seen. But Columbia is my idol yet, of all the lands she is queen.” -Parson Smith, June 8th, 1886 When trapper Allen (Parson) Smith carved those words into a tree 12 feet this side of the Canadian Border, he was one of the many who traveled great lengths to reap the rewards of the legendary North Cascades. The rewards of those days were pelts, furs, gold, copper, and many other minerals.
- Chicago (Wikipedia)
Chicago (/ʃɪˈkɑːɡoʊ/ shih-KAH-goh, locally also /ʃɪˈkɔːɡoʊ/ shih-KAW-goh; Miami-Illinois: Shikaakwa; Ojibwe: Zhigaagong) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the third-most populous in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles. With a population of 2,746,388 in the 2020 census, it is also the most populous city in the Midwest. As the seat of Cook County, the second-most populous county in the U.S., Chicago is the center of the Chicago metropolitan area.