Jack Ridge by Mount Stuart borders the west edge of The Enchantments. At the same time, it meets the massive Stuart Range on the south. The high point is also the third-highest in North Wenatchee Mountains after Eightmile Mountain.
See more trip photos here.
Jack Ridge at a Glance
Access: Eightmile Lake Trailhead
Round Trip: 16 miles
Elevation Range: 3280′-7800′
Gear: helmet, snowshoes, microspikes
GPS Track: available
Route Info: Luke Helgeson, Adam Walker
Dog-Friendly: no pets
Eightmile Lake Trail
As I prepared for bed off Icicle Road, I realized I had left my headlamp at home. But I was glad to see the small flashlight buried in my ten essentials. In the morning, I started walking in the dark and arrived at Little Eightmile Lake at sunrise.
I went over puddles and a few trees on the trail. Then before the lower lake were places of massive down logs. Before long, I had reached Eightmile Lake and chatted with a group of campers. After shooting some video footage by the water, I continued.
See more trip photos here.
Eightmile Creek Basin
The official trail ended by the lake’s outlet. Then the hikers’ path went to the west end of the water with only a handful of windfalls. The area had been through fires before, so soon, down trees had inundated the entire forest.
After hopping over the logs, I went into the clearing by the old avalanche debris. I thought about following the creekbed through the next part of the forest. But the possibility of dealing with even more down trees had me rethink my plan.
See more trip photos here.
Bypassing Point 7793
I scoped out the route lower down and didn’t see a feasible way to avoid down trees. Instead, I went around them by moving higher. Soon, I checked the two reports and began moving toward Point 7793’s southeast ridge.
It wasn’t pleasant to step through the brush with hidden rocks and down trees. So I went up a few hundred feet and rounded the buttress at 5800′. The top of the Stuart Range emerged as I continued toward Jack Ridge’s east basin.
See more trip photos here.
Jack Ridge East Basin
At last, Jack Ridge was in full display from the south of Point 7793. Snow soon showed up at 6000′, where I put on microspikes for traction. But without enough snow, I constantly stepped into the boulder gaps.
More snow in the upper basin had me put on snowshoes by the lovely tarn at 7000′. Meanwhile, the line from Point 7261 to the summit looked pretty gnarly. By now, there was enough snow for me to go straight uphill.
See more trip photos here.
Jack Ridge Summit Views
Soon, sketchy dry rocks on the steep east slopes had me go directly to the north saddle to finish. So far, Jack Ridge had kept me from the west wind until I went on the ridge. Then temperatures reduced significantly. Burr!
I dodged most of the wind on the east with better views. It was the second-closest I’ve seen Mount Stuart from the north after Axis Peak. Cashmere Mountain and Eightmile Mountain looked superimposed next to each other.
See more trip photos here.
Outro
It took longer than expected to climb Jack Ridge. Apart from the long way, I stopped many times to shoot videos. But what best way to find out about the inefficiency of filming in the mountains than trying for myself? A backpacking trip would have been ideal.
From the top, I had thought about going down to the valley and out through the forest. But as I started to remember all those down trees, I decided to retrace my steps instead. More snow would’ve made the trip more enjoyable.
See more trip photos here.
Love it! Your video skills are getting better with every trip.
Thanks, Jefferson! I appreciate the kind words.