Mountain Home Ridge

May 16, 2025 -- Leavenworth

Stats: 12.3 km / 405m gain / 3:15 hours MT

This hike got us closer to the mountains than the other two did and was in Leavenworth's backyard.

What was a small white chapel doing up in the mountain in the middle of nowhere? Our curiosity was piqued. Later we drove up the mountain road to get a bit closer to it.

Wild strawberries.

Wedge Mt. high above a little white chapel -- southwest.

Edwards Mt. -- west.

Icicle River valley with Leavenworth in the distance -- northwest.

flox

Why would a chapel be located in such a remote area? We ran into some local residents who explained that a private owner started developing this area with plans to build a recreational complex. He even built a railway. But his plans came to a halt when the city would not give him water rights. In 2008 the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust aquired the property from him.

Edward & Cashmere Mts -- west.

The railway can be seen in the meadow.

Honey Suckle

At the end of a long narrow loop (the signs should've been at the beginning of the loop, not at the end), we turned left. This led to a radio tower and high point on the ridge.

Views from the high point on the ridge -- northwest.

north

Forget-me-nots

Ewww. This snake was about 4' long!

A long thin arm of land led us along the ridge.

Under the top layer of branches is a sheet of white plastic. This is so the bottom 2/3 dries. Then in the winter they burn it.

Wild Hyacinth

When we got back to our car, we headed higher up the mountain road. Then we parked by a gate and set out to explore this area and maybe hike up to the chapel? There were about nine large pieces of abandoned heavy duty equipment, rusting on this open slope. Should we proceed? We knew it was private property but there were no signs. We decided to hike another 5-minutes. I was just starting to feel hopeful and excited about checking out that chapel when Cindy stopped abruptly and said, "Bear!" That settled it. We turned around and headed back. The bear stayed sitting higher up on the slope, watching us.

Back at the meadow we got out to explore the train tracks.

Looking at the ridge we'd just been hiking on.

A bit farther down the road we saw this short ornate tunnel. But we had to be on the highway driving home by 4:00pm and we were out of time. I would definately like to return some day...