American Ridge, White Pass to Chinook Pass & Goat Peak — Sunday, Oct. 7, 2012

Ascended Goat Peak Trail from Hwy 410. I've hiked it a couple of times before and remembered it as a steep but quick climb. This time with a 35-40 pound pack, it was steep and slow. Absolutely clear skies in spite of fires. I could see plumes of smoke from fires in the Kettle Creek drainage. From Goat Peak I headed west on American Ridge. Tough trail, up and down. Dry. In places the trail disappeared. I completely lost the trail on the west side of Kettle Creek basin. I was off trail (unintentionally) from there to the ridge heading west at the bottom of the north-south ridge above Big Basin. From the Mestachee Trailhead to the PCT the trail was well-traveled and obvious. It was a great hike--about 20 hours total hiking time including scrambling steep hillsides looking for the trail.