Nasen Ridge Trail Run

Nasen Ridge - Heat, Mosquitos, Dust, Snow

Now that the bug bites have finally gone away, it's time to share a bit of last weekend's trail run that Luke and I did on Nasen Ridge.  We got to Nasen Ridge via the Merritt Lake trail, about 10 miles east of Stevens Pass.  The trails we travelled were on the Green Trails Maps Stevens Pass Map 176S.  A couple miles up a dry, dusty dirt road brought us to a dry, dusty trailhead (yes, there is a theme forming):

After climbing to Merritt Lake, we headed west on the Nansen Ridge trail to Crescent Lake, scrambled up some steep climbs, turned around and headed back east, beyond the Merritt Lake trail up to the Alpine Lookout, before turning back around and returning to the trailhead.

Long, dry day.  Good hydration training, with plenty of climbing.  Most of the trail was in the 5,000 to 6,000 foot range.

Some of the Sights

The first signs of snow on the trail.

Luke identifying the weak points in the snowfield.

Crescent Lake

Above Crescent Lake

Did I mention the mosquitoes?

Approaching Alpine Lookout

At the Lookout (6200')

The Route