One of the great things about this area is that the forests above 5000 feet are largely spruce and fir. Unfortunately most of them are dead or dying from a combination of the wooly adelgids insect and acid rain.
Pack weight was a little over 66 pounds for this trip, which definitely seemed heavy during the initial 3000+ feet climb and while negotiating the occasional patches of snow and ice above 6000 feet.
Even at that altitude though, the nights didn't get much cooler than upper 20s and the days were in the 60s.
There were a few signs of bears too, but luckily we didn't have any encounters.
