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Trip Report    

Alpine Scramble - S Wedge Mountain

Horribly rutted road to the trailhead and short scramble, but the views into the Enchantments are gorgeous.

Susan Shih Susan Shih
September 10, 2019
  • Road recommended for high clearance only

  • Heavily rutted road that demands a high clearance vehicle.  Our Toyota 4runner with its 10.3" of clearance had zero problems.  Would be worse if muddy as well.

This was a Plan B destination.  

There is a Wedge Mtn at 5840', but our scramble was to S Wedge Mtn at 6885'.

Many would consider this scramble a waste of time considering how long it takes to reach the TH and on such a bad road, but the 3 of us rather enjoyed it and I think Albert may have enjoyed driving his 4Runner to the TH almost as much as the scramble itself. 

We started up the trail (which begins as an abandoned road and then turns into a real trail) at about 10am on a lovely day.  The trail is steep, but in surprisingly good shape although a bit dusty.  20190907_100941.jpg

We pass through a burned area and soon reach the ridge where we're greeted with a spectacular view of the Enchantments.  Lower and Upper Snow Lakes, Nada Lake (climber's right), McClellan Butte, Little Annapurna's summit in the clouds, The Temple, Cannon Mtn, etc.   None of us has ever had a view into the Enchantments from this direction.20190907_110137.jpgAfter taking many photos, we head south continuing right below the ridge where a faint path comes and goes.  A few logs to step across, but not a problem.20190907_110734.jpgSoon we see the S Wedge Mountain's summit.  We don our helmet, drop down a gully for maybe 50 feet and then scramble up and around to the back and are on the summit in no time.  Short scramble of class 3 & 4.20190907_114544.jpgThe view into the Enchantments are actually better from the ridge as we no longer can see the lakes.20190907_121447.jpgLooking north.20190907_122126.jpgLooking east.20190907_122029.jpgSoon it's time to return and down we go.20190907_123720.jpgBack on trail...we're parked at the bottom of this hill.20190907_130924.jpgBack at the TH at about 1:45pm and talking about where to eat in Leavenworth.  The ride down turns out easier than the ride up. One of the easier ruts to deal with.20190907_140742.jpgToo bad Leavenworth is jam packed and we can't find a parking spot.  We settle on 59er Diner for a quick meal before returning.  Getting home before dark...what a nice change!   Super thankful to Albert and Bulent for their good company and special thanks to Albert for driving.  Sorry for leaving your car so very dusty!