Ash, Rope & Ridgeline — Ebook (Pre-order)

Pre-order now. It delivers Tuesday, November 24, 2026. Pre-orders are 10% off through December 31, 2026. Your download link is emailed on release. The discount is applied automatically at checkout, no code needed.

Ash, Rope & Ridgeline: 36 Miles in 3 Days Around Mount St. Helens, a memoir by Aaron Holden.

Most hikers do about 33 miles. They did about 36. Three days, two friends, and an active volcano.

The Loowit Trail circles Mount St. Helens. Most people who hike the loop cover about 33 miles. With the approach and the detours the mountain forced on them, Aaron Holden and his hiking partner Ryan Thompson walked about 36, with 6,660 feet of elevation gain, in three days.

On paper it was a long weekend. On the mountain it was fog so thick the trail markers vanished, rain on and off all day and night, lava-rock fields, a few washed-out trails, one washed-out bridge, a suspension bridge snapped on one side and blocked off, and places where the trail simply ended at a drop and the only way on was down a rope or a cliff face. They hiked 14 to 15 hours a day. Water was never where they needed it.

Told with humor and packed with full-color photos from the trip, Ash, Rope & Ridgeline is a true story about friendship, stubbornness, Bigfoot-themed diners, and what it takes to finish what you started. Don’t use it as a guidebook. Use it as a reminder to carry more water than you think you need.

Backing Red Moon on Kickstarter? The campaign launches Tuesday, November 17, 2026. Every backer who pledges $100 or more gets the Ash, Rope & Ridgeline ebook free. See the Kickstarter.

Good to know

• Digital download, nothing is mailed. Your download link is emailed on release day, Tuesday, November 24, 2026.
• EPUB ebook with the full-color trip photos. Reads in Apple Books, Google Play Books, Kobo and most ebook apps, and can be sent to a Kindle with Amazon’s Send to Kindle.
• Trip photos by Aaron Holden.
• Sold by Endless Pursuit Publishers.
• ISBN: 9798237315578

Prefer paper?

Pre-order the paperback for $14.99: 6 × 9 in, 48 pages, premium full-color interior. It goes out when print copies are ready, and we’ll email you a firm date.

Good for all ages

Strong language was left out. There are real cliffs, ropes and dehydration in the story, and an Adventure Warning page: it’s a story, not route guidance.