Home»All Photographs»2021 Hikes»Hell's Ridge North 01-08-21

I went for a solo outing to Hell's Ridge today. The long, undulating ridge sports two summits (north and south) which are a few kilometers apart and are often done as two separate trips with different approaches. Today, I would go for the more scenic north summit.
I brought my snowshoes just in case, but upon surveying the snow depth and the steepness of the route, I elected to leave them behind and just bring my new microspikes (thanks Megan!). It was the right choice.
The snow was about a foot deep through the forest, making travel somewhat arduous. Nobody had been on this route recently, so I just forged my way up the trail-less terrain. The steepness of the grade would have made my snowshoes really clumsy here, and with 450 meters of elevation gain, I was happy to just be in boots with spikes.
After some time, I broke into open meadows where the view behind me was really starting to open up. The bluebird day didn't hurt either.
Once on the ridge, you must navigate undulating terrain with some deadfall and little rock outcrops. This was the best part of the day.
At the top, I enjoyed almost windless conditions (a rarity for this area). After downing a cheese and pickle sandwich, some fried chicken skins and Bruce Bourque's homemade brittle, I started back.
On the descent, I was photographing an old barb wire fence in a tree when I noticed how dry and warm the matted grass by my feet was. I sat down for a moment. Then I lay down. Then I fell asleep for 15 mins - unexpected but a nice little bonus in January.
Further down the ridge, I passed a local trappers cabin and had a chat with him. He's a nice fellow whom I've chatted with a few years ago when hiking in the same area.