Hike / Climb / Run in the Cascades (8:20:00) Drove to the Denny Creek/ Lake Melakwa trailhead about 20 miles east of North Bend on I-90. I put on my hiking boots and instantly felt pain in my right ankle. The same pain developed in my two previous hikes, but I thought they were from me rolling my ankle in a previous run. Looks like a crease has been worn in the spot where I am feeling the pain. I decided to do the climb in my running shoes instead. Hiked about 2 miles to Denny Creek. This is great place to take the family for a relatively easy 4 mile round-trip hike. The creek runs over solid rock making its own waterslide. After crossing the creek, I hiked up to Hemlock Pass and back down to Lake Melakwa. This place is gorgeous! I'll definitely backpack and stay the night here some day. After refilling my water bottle at the lake, I left the main trail and followed the faint boot-path up the ridge that leads to Kaleetan Peak, elevation of 6259 feet. At first, it was just a lightly-travelled, steep path through the woods, but then it became a class 2 scamble up a cliff. After the cliff, I exited the forest onto a talus-covered ridge, went briefly back into a wooded area and then back onto the ridge to the summit of Peak 5700. The ridge becomes a knife-edge with precipitous drops on either side, so the path decends down the SW side of the mountain into a talus-filled basin, then back up an avalanche gully to ridge. After some more steep hiking up the ridge, the last obstacle awaits: A class 3 climb to the summit. I'm not very experienced in rock-climbing so it took me a while to figure out the handholds and foot placement, but it was a lot of fun! At the summit, I had a clear view of mountains all around me! Mt Rainier, Glacier Peak, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Stuart, as well as many minor peaks were clearly visible. I ate some lunch, took some pictures and started the journey back to the trailhead. After downclimbing the class 3 portion VERY slowly, I moved along back the way I came. At the lake, I refilled my water bottle and jumped in. The water was cold, but you could get used to it and swim for awhile. I didn't. From the lake, I ran the remaining 4 miles up to Hemlock Pass and back down to the trailhead. Travel time (including breaks): about 8:20 Distance: about 12 miles Elevation gain: about 4000 feet | 