Goode Ridge

Like many hikes heading northwest out of Stehekin, the hike to Goode Ridge begins at High Bridge, where you are offered two choices: hike entirely along a five mile section of the PCT, or mix the trail with walking along the remaining portions of the Old Wagon Road that have not been washed out. Because Rebecca and I have traveled both paths quite frequently, we tend to choose the road because it goes slightly faster than the trail. 

Either way leads to Bridge Creek. Just across the bridge, the Goode Ridge trail splits off and the fun begins. The next five miles climb roughly 4,500 feet to a high point off the ridge line of Goode Mountain.

Switchback after switchback began to spark impatience in Rebecca and me after about three miles, so our conversation turned into a series of invigorating discussions to answer ridiculous hypothetical questions. Eventually, we got above timberline and slowly but surely, the alpine huckleberries, fall colors, and increasing vistas for stimulating (albeit random) conversation.

The trail continues climbing until it turns quite abruptly to wrap over the edge of the ridge, and suddenly the view opens up to a wide expanse of nearby glacier covered peaks. One last push leads to the site of an old fire lookout, where step after step up the hill gains increments of the 360 view revealed in full at the end of the trail.

What I appreciated most about this trail is that the high point is itself not actually the peak of the mountain. Although there is a full panorama of the surrounding mountains, the true peak of Goode Mountain is a part of the view. At 9,199 feet and only two and a half miles away, this gives some serious perspective for the seemingly endless terrain of jagged ridges and summits.