Mount Amadis

June 30, 2025

Distance: 21.4km

Elevation gain: 1652m

Time required: 9-10 hours round-trip

I kicked off my hiking season late this year. I decided to hike International Ridge Trail to Mount Amadis. This is not a very popular trail (I would soon find out why).

The trail starts off of a small road on the east side of Cultus Lake. The first couple of kilometers are nice. Wide path, gradual elevation gain. However, about a kilometre in, the trail starts to become overgrown with stinging nettle. There was about 2.5 kilometres of solid stinging nettle. I was incredibly thankful I had decided to wear pants, though it still stings you through them. On my upper body, I had only a tank top on, so I tried my best to avoid the worst of the nettle, though it's pretty much unavoidable.

Once the stinging nettle was over, the climbing begun. It's a fairly steep trail with some very steep climbs at some points. You never leave the forest, and get only a couple of view points along the way, so the journey feels unchanging and long.

The first good viewpoint. Looking east, with the Chilliwack valley in the distance. You can just see the tops of the Mt Cheam range sticking out in the background.

The only other good viewpoint along the way. Cultus Lake can just be seen on the left.

The only interesting thing that happened on the trail was coming across a momma bear and her cub. I spooked them as I came towards them, and the cub climbed up a tree. I made sure to make lots of noise after that, especially as I saw fresh scat a couple of times.

After about 4.5 hours, I arrived at Mount Amadis. I was somewhat disappointed with the views. The actual peak is entirely forested and offers no views whatsoever. Walking about 100m south reveals a pretty meadow with some views of the surrounding area.

The best view that Mt Amadis offers. Looking south towards Mt Baker and other U.S. peaks.

Looking west towards Chilliwack

There was plenty of arctic lupine in the meadow.

My return journey felt longer than the outbound journey. That was likely due in part to the fact that my hiking boots had gotten way too small and my toes were in agony. Four hours and too much stinging nettle later, and I was back to the trailhead.

I definitely wouldn't do this trail again. The reward-to-effort ratio is very low, especially with all the stinging nettle. Perhaps some panoramic views would make the hike more worth the effort, but it's still another tick off my list.