Hell's Ridge everything but

I have been enjoying hiking new places and new ridges the last little while and was game to carry on that trend.  I put a shout out to see who was up for a little bit of so called hell on Hell's Ridge.  We went expecting a bit of rough and ugly and hell but found everything but.  We also went prepared as "Heavenly Angels" just in case we needed that extra ammunition to create an attitude adjustment on this Ridge.

What we found right from the trail head was a pretty sight and perfect weather.  

After crossing the bridge we veered left for a very short stretch then saw a tad of flagging on our right  and answered that call which lead us in the direction of up and up and straight up and up and then a steeper straight up.   After that steeper straight up we popped out above the trees on top of Hell's Ridge with this as our view.

We headed north along the trail until we found our next grand opening and that's where we celebrated the day and the beauty of it all with tonnes of fun.   We donned our dresses and went to work giving this our Heavenly Angels touch.   The helmets add the braun to the beauty.

Heavenly Angels on Hell's Ridge

After that fun stuff and dining which was lengthy in time,  we carried on along Hell's Ridge thoroughly enjoying the ups & downs and ins & outs of the trees. Each time we entered a treed section, I wondered what view would we pop out to.  Here is a view to the west.

Then we came out on the other side and had a view towards Mount Burke.

Arriving at the next opening we had a view towards Bull Creek Hills.

I really enjoyed the ups and downs over the last few bumps.  

The openings were wide and the views were vast.  

On a higher point near the end of the Ridge, I went for another summit shot.  

Short Stop aimed perfectly to get Mist Mountain framed between my legs.  

You can also see Junction Hill to the right.

We reached the cairn that would mark the spot where we would begin the descent of Hell's Ridge.  We settled down to enjoy the view a snack and a refreshment before descending.  From my spot I could see Mist Mountain and Junction Hill.

We had a very tiny short scramble off the rock ledge down to the grassy slope.  We followed a low to the ground barbwire fence down the slope.  It was here where the flowers were in abundance.  We spend some time offering up admiration.  

looking up and across to a portion of Hell's Ridge

a longer stretch of Hell's Ridge

The descent off the Ridge was easy as was the hike along the Etherington Creek Trail.  We crossed over the bridge and arrived back at the pullout.  We layed out our tarps and dropped everything on them and then performed the full tick check.  None came along for the ride today.

Hell's Ridge offered up quite a lovely day of ridge walking and scenery.  We were fortunate to have ideal weather the whole time.  The name of this trail might deter some from venturing here but I would suggest add it to your to-do list if you enjoy ridge walking in this neck of the woods.  

Note:  Along the Etherington Creek Trail, there was an unreal amount of flagging.  The tape did not have "zone management" nor "pest control" printed on it. We wondered what the purpose was.  It was not just small pieces with tiny knots, but long strands wrapped a couple of times around with even two or three pieces on each tree.  I have never seen so much and wondered who put it there and why.  Maybe it is for some sort of type of study!  

Like I have been having lately, this was just one of those days!  It seems lately as each day passes, I realize for one reason or another, to recognize the importance of being grateful.  I gave extra attention today to "remember to breathe"!  Thank you for sharing in taking time today,  for just being silly and for the road side belly laughs.