Mission Ridge by Mission Peak and Bentrim Hill via Mission Creek / 使命脊

  • Reading time:7 mins read

Mission Ridge by Mission Peak and Bentrim Hill rises over King Canyon. To the north lies the notable Horse Lake Mountain. Mission Creek byway of Cashmere offers the most direct way to the high point of the various routes.

Mission Ridge straight ahead
Mission Ridge straight ahead

See more trip photos here.

Mission Ridge at a Glance

Access: East Fork Mission Creek Road
Round Trip: 10 miles
Elevation Range: 2120′-4963′
Gear: none
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes

East Fork Mission Creek Road

Mission Ridge would’ve been last Saturday’s plan before I realized it was the ski resort‘s final week. But it would’ve taken longer to go through the ski area anyway. Thanks to Dan‘s report, we took the shorter way via Cashmere.

As a few dirt bikers showed up, we reached the gate, but they soon went on another path. The place looked like a biker haven, judging by the tread marks. I thought we’d walk the road but then hiked the dirt road instead.

Access denied
Access denied

See more trip photos here.

Road Washout Over Mission Creek

Despite the blasting sun, tall trees had kept us in the shade most of the time. Soon, we crossed the first creek on small branches as a group of bikers came up from behind. Before long, we met the same people by the big washout.

One biker nearly flipped as he tried riding over the creek. He decided to turn around after his partners helped set the bike upright. Meanwhile, we walked past via a side trail and crossed on logs farther up the creek.

Road washout over Mission Creek
Road washout over Mission Creek

See more trip photos here.

Mission Ridge North Route

We crossed the third stream at the two-mile mark and left the road. Then we went uphill over down trees on steep terrain, which later flattened past 3000′. Soon, we went a minor ridge to Point 4234 and dropped onto the western saddle.

We went toward Point 4508 from the down treed saddle and hiked south on Mission Ridge Trail. The path bypassed two knobs from the east and hugged the crest past 4600′. Then we went up 300′ before leaving the trail at 4800′ to finish.

Let the Tinikling begin
Let the Tinikling begin

See more trip photos here.

Mission Ridge Summit Views

We reached the top with trees on the north side without much to see. Mission Peak‘s extensive ridgeline to the south was the only decent view here. I spotted Mount Lillian behind Point 5621 later on our way down.

To the west were views of Teanaway and Stuart Range. But I needed to use the zoom lenses to get a better look at the peaks. We were also too low to see Wenatchee and instead saw Badger Mountain farther north.

Mission Peak from Mission Ridge
Mission Peak from Mission Ridge

See more trip photos here.

Outro

It was an unexciting exit, plus most views had faded soon back at the saddle. But we found a better way dropping off the minor ridge to bypass the down trees we encountered earlier.

Then it was a quiet two-mile road walk back to the starting point.

Farewell to Mission Ridge
Farewell to Mission Ridge

See more trip photos here.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Discover more from One Hike A Week / 每週一行

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading