So, last time I ended up going up Cascade and skipping Porter.  The biggest reason was I got to the top right about my turnaround time.  This was based off of not knowing how fast I would be heading out.  It took 4 hour up but only 1.5 down.  If it was 4 down I would have been off the trail at 5 and in the mountains where the sunset is around 6, it can get dark quickly and I don't really want to be hiking in the dark.  Now I know better about my abilities.  My turn around time won't be 130 like it was last time.  It will be more like 3.  Looking back I could have done Porter, and am kicking myself for not having done it.  This time I will do it, and Cascade will be a nice extra.

Weather looks good for this Thursday.  It will be cold and partly cloudy, but not below 0 and not horribly windy (now saying about 15mph) with wind chill at +1 F.  I would go on Saturday, but the current forecast then is heavy rain turning to heavy snow.  I'm not concerned about stream crossings here, there's only a couple tiny feeders that you can easily hop across.  I don't really want to get soaked to the bone, most likely from sweat, and then freeze up.