Kent Ridge North Outlier and North Peak to Mt. Inflexible. Hot. Smoky.

The Kent Ridge peaks were straight forward, the fun begins traversing to Inflexible. Care was needed down climbing loose terrain that I would also consider “delicate”… don’t trust a single hold! I felt route finding was only a slight challenge, mostly because I was happy with my decisions. I did have few short backtracks after being cliffed out. I don’t think this mountain isn’t climbed often, so any significant trails aren’t likely from people traffic. The summit register at Inflexible was out there in 1994. I didn’t count, but there was maybe only a couple dozen names in there. To the North, there is another peak that looked like it could be taller. So I decided to go for it just in case it’s the true high point. I think it is. However, getting there was tricky. A little down climbing, a little scrambling, and some scree bashing. I tried to stick to the ridge but it was notched. More fun came with the descent of the west face. It looks gnarly from a distance, and it’s gnarly close up. if you’re not on super steep slab, you’re on moderately steep slab with loose gravel. I don’t think there’s an established route, so it’s kind of “climbers choice”. I definitely took my time and even scrambled back up a section because I didn’t like cliff bands below me. Lots of rock fall. It would be dangerous to have people ascending or descending below another party. Once off the face, I traveled across the scree field and bushwhacked to a little pond where I could connect with the main trail. Then it was a pleasant 5km jog back to the truck.