Jeff Kendall-Weed

Get as Rad as You Can!

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Backcountry Bangers: turns out Kachess Ridge checks all the boxes

A lot of you are probably asking  yourself, “What is a Backcountry Banger? Jeff, what are the rules?” It’s simple, it’s what I dream about. A Backcountry Banger isn’t some secret moonshine making country song that totally jams.  The term “Backcountry” means something a little different to each cyclist. Let’s just call Bangers a really good ride. Kachess (pronounced “Ka-cheese”) Ridge is as tasty as the pronunciation. This area was originally inhabited by the Kittias and Yakima people. The word Kachess is a a Kittias term meaning “more fish”, Kachess Lake is underneath the jagged alpine ridge with the wonderful trail of my dreams.

Hi, my name is Jeff, and I’m a … wrong meeting. And yes, it’s laundry day. 

After an early morning, I knew we were going to need a lot of energy if we were going to tackle this ridge. The goal is to take a dive in Kachess Lake at the end for a cool down, but we’ve got a long way to go. Drone shots really encapsulate how daunting this area can seem, but the trail was surprisingly accessible. The ridge runs north to south, so the morning sun coming up in the east is behind the ridge, making the climb up the West side a much cooler experience.

Kachess Lake, a Kittias term meaning “more fish”, could mean that this lake used to be a lively fishing spot. Seeing fish along streams going down the ridge line provided a physical manifestation to the true nature of the area and name.
Squatting in the air adds about 5% coolness to any jump. This is accredited by the school of bump jumping. 

Ever since I got this Rocky Mountain Altitude, I thought this would be the perfect backdrop to try it out. I wanted to use this bike with a more backcountry setting because it is a long travel, lightweight, enduro bike. Something that would safely get me into the land of rocky dangers efficiently and still allow for some proper shredding.

After a stop at the soup kitchen a couple weeks ago, we had some dirty dishes that needed cleaning. Logan gets me back with a huge splash for making him ride in my dirt-tails down the ridge. 
E.T. has made quite the comeback in 2020.
A heron, or osprey-eye view, depending on who you’re asking. 

I absolutely love rides like this, and hope that we can make Backcountry Bangers a permanent fixture on my channel. Big thanks to Jenson USA for their support, and heres a link to the Rocky Mountain Altitude as well as a thank you in advance.

Big thanks to these guys for making this all possible!  Any purchases from these links will directly help support my channel as well:

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