[raz2sea]

First off I'd like to thank my co-hikers on this (Schmidt Alti-Dude/Babe, Rowena, Keifer, Dicey, wamtngal, Just Todd and Bryan) for asking me to write this TR as this is a moment for me to celebrate. While a short hike by most standards this hike represented my largest elevation gain since I attempted Mt St Helens some 13 years ago. Slow and steady, I may even be ready to try Mt Si by the end of this summer Stats RT: 3.7mi Elevation gain: +1660 ft

So the day started out with Bryan meeting me at my apt and then it was off to stuff Dicey, wamtngal and Just Todd into my car for a drive to North Bend. Once there we met up with the Schmidts and Dicey moved to their vehicle. We arrived at the lodge at around 2:30pm and set up camp. After a little while it was decided to take a short hike up American Ridge. The hike started off by going up what was possibly an old ski slope since the American Ridge Lodge started life as a Ski area. After a pretty quick climb to the ridge we looked back to see the lodge:

A few views of the Bumping River valley:

Entering the William O Douglas wilderness:

One of our many breaks to take in the scenery:

Rowena:

Just hanging on:

Keifer secretly coveting Bryan's food:

Jeremy decides to try rock climbing and we nearly lost him. Thankfully Dicey dove off the edge and rescued him. All the while she made sure she did not stress her core, per her doctors orders:

Our turn around point shot:

For me this was a tough hike but with a great bunch of people encouraging me to go on I was able to make it to our "summit" for the day. I know others have more pics and stories to post. Enjoy!! EDIT: If you are looking for the GTG recap here is the link: https://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7967209

[gone]

Well done, nice hike - beautiful pictures, the blue skies are to die for! Glad Dicey was able to save Jeremy without stressing her core! Next time I'd advise letting the Super Whippets make the first attempt.

[Just Todd]

YAY! Thanks Rich for getting this done tonight Ooops. I didn't shoot pics on American Ridge. Everyone else's superb shots will overwhelmingly do just fine though. I'll say that the Morels we found made for good eatin' on Sunday morning except the one's that Jeremy felt he needed to manhandle Thanks all!

[Magellan]

Good on ya Razz! Jeremy, you are a nut!!

[wamtngal]

Rich did a fabulous job on this hike -- that ski slope wasn't a walk in the park, it was steep! This was also a first for, I think all of us, to find some yummy morels too! Thanks for a great hike y'all.

[bobbi]

okay.....we are going to remedy that elevation gain stats this summer! next stop 2000 feet! congratulations, Raz!

[Schmidt Alti-Dude]

Great report Rich and a nice stroll with some good friends. We're still working on the finishing touches to the photos and will post them soon.

[rdyhiker]

Thanks for the trip report, raz. I've been waiting all day! Really. I was very curious about snow levels down there as that area often melts out earlier than most and I hope to do Goat Peak soon. Looks like you guys didn't hit any snow at all. Any idea at what elevation it might start on American Ridge?

[wamtngal]

rdy, wait until the Aix report...it should be up in a day or so. No snow on the ridge that we encountered, but heading towards the closed gate off of Hwy 410, we could look up to Goat and it looked a little snowy, at least from what I could see on the west side of it...I'd say you'd probably run into a bit of snow.

[rdyhiker]

[Schmidt Altitude]

A nice scenic hike within sight distance of the Lodge, who could ask for more. We were hoping to take it easy on Friday because we had summitted Teneriffe on Thursday and were climbing Aix on Saturday but 1600+ feet elevation in less than 2 miles is a good stretch for the legs . Here are some pics or you can check out the whole set on flickr by clicking here.

American Ridge Lodge

Taking in the view

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Lupine

Balsam Root

Blossoms and Old Scab Mountain

The trail's thataway!

And Todd was never heard from again

Break Buddies

Phlox

Hey guys, I think I see some trees!

Altitude on American

Conserving energy

View from turn around point

9 labels

Team America(n Ridge)

Check out my low morel

[ActionBetty]

OMG... that last pic of Jeremy is too freaking funny.. hey wait a second.. was that the Morel I took a bite out of?

[Bryan K]

Very nice TR Raz. A great hike that started off a wonderful weekend!!! I just got back from a night at Gallagher Head Lake and have a lot of pics to sort through from the last five days. Will post a few here when I'm done.

[dicentra]

lmao! You guys are crazy. (that's a compliment). Next time I come out I want to HIKE!

[Bryan K]

Fun way to start off the weekend!! Full set of pics here

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