North Gardner Mountain, in Washington’s North Cascades within the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest, is the highest point in Okanogan County and the state’s twenty-third highest mountain. It stands in a notably rugged landscape of craggy summits, granite spires, ridges, and deep glacial valleys. The surrounding range took shape over millions of years through tectonic activity, including volcanism tied to the North American Plate overriding the Pacific Plate and the accretion of terranes about fifty million years ago. Later Pleistocene glaciation carved the terrain into U-shaped valleys and sharp elevation contrasts. Pacific weather systems bring rain and heavy winter snowfall, while summers are often clearer.