Summer Has Finally Arrived!!

This last weekend I went on my first backpacking trip of the summer season and boy was it a scorcher! Summer has finally arrived with a vengeance with 80's in the mountains and 90's in the lowlands.

It was time again for my annual perambulation through the Enchantment Lakes area near Leavenworth,WA. This year I got to share this place, one of my favorites, with three Enchantments rookies, Jim, Jessica and Alison. I know I had a great time on the hike and I think it was primarily due to the company. All three of these hikers had a pretty great attitude and seemed to really enjoy the Enchantments.

We started out on Friday at the Stuart Lake trailhead and headed straight up through a cloud of mosquitos to Colchuck Lake. Unfortunately, Jessica was not feeling well and became quite dehydrated during the day so we made a group decision to postpone the hike over Asgard pass until Saturday. We stopped at emerald Colchuck Lake hoping that Jessica would feel better on Saturday and that we would be able to escape from the mosquitos in the colder Enchantments. While everyone else settled into a camp in the boulders below Colchuck Peak I decided to burn some more energy and try for the summit of Colchuck Peak.

I remembered the last time I had climbed Colchuck I had been a relative neophyte to steep snow/ice walking and had been very grateful to have the comfort of crampons for the climb up the glacier. So this time I was a bit skeptical about how easy and safe it would be to hike it without crampons. After starting out at 4:45 PM I was surprised to find myself on the very top at 6:15 PM. The snowfield/glacier had been a relatively easy walk due to the fact that the top 3 or 4 inches was a bit slushy and some previous groups had left nice steps. The view from the top was spectacular especially since I could see all the WA state volcanoes except for Mt. St. Helens! The summit smelled a bit like a barnyard but I guess that is the price you pay for having the ubiquitous mountain goats in the mountains, where they belong.

On Friday evening Jim, Alison and I got to spend some quality hiker bonding time sipping a hiker margarita, staring at the brilliant stars and bs-ing about politics, theology and science, among other things. BTW, before this hike I did not know any of my hiking partners, although I had met Jim briefly on a Mountaineers hike a few weeks before. As far as I can tell Jim is a very entertaining professional conversationalist who should probably be on Jeopardy, Alison is a relatively hip young scientist who just happens to be a bit gullible and Jessica is someone who is committed to challenging herself.

On Saturday we struggled up the mighty Asgard Pass and entered the heavenly Enchantment Lakes Basin. Thankfully Alison and Jim were able to help out with carrying gear and hiking with Jessica so that we could all make it to the high point of the hike. Then we moseyed through the upper Enchantments before Jim, Alison and I dropped packs and headed for the summit of Little Annapurna. On top we were treated to the a spectacular view of a large portion of the Washington Cascades and the vertigo which comes from looking over the steep side of the peak. On the way up the mountain Alison got a quick lesson in ice axe self arrest and by the time we came down, I think she had nearly mastered the most important part of any climbing technique: confidence. We had no significant falls and I have a feeling that this was due more to the soft and quickly melting snow then our climbing technique. After the climbing we scrambled down to my favorite camp spot at Lake Viviane to settle in for another perfectly clear night of backcountry stargazing and sleeping.

After sleeping in on Sunday morning, we took our time wandering down the Snow Creek valley to the Snow Creek trailhead. Fortunately, we all survived without suffering from heat stroke.

During the weekend I did a few minutes of fishing at Snow Lakes and very little at Lake Viviane and Colchuck. I ended up getting skunked, partially due to the fact that there was still snow on Lake Viviane! But mostly due to my impatience, broken gear and poor fishing skills. Nonetheless, I enjoyed my time fishing on these beautiful crystal clear lakes.

I can't wait to go back!!

Free Thoughts (no pennies required)

Today was Damon's birthday. I find it particularly weird that I often have trouble remembering some of my brother's and sister's birthdays, but June 3rd, my dead brother's birthday is easily remembered. Maybe it has to do with that one June 3rd when we were kids and my brother Micah was in the hospital with pneumonia. I remember how I didn't really know what to feel on that day since I was worried about my sick brother. But at the same time I was wondering, how does Damon, my other brother, feel? His birthday is today and everyone is too busy and too worried to really celebrate his birthday. I think we actually did do the whole presents and cake thing but I don't remember much about that. What stands out is that just as Micah was starting to recover and our Dad had just returned to his job which was over 150 miles away, my dad's dad died.

I could be mis-remembering the exact timeline or minor details. But I definitely remember the strange sense of dread I felt at that time. When the whole world seems to start falling apart it can be extremely unnerving, especially for a kid. Prior to this time I believed my parents and other grown-ups could make everything ok. Doctors could always solve a problem. My dad could fix the problem like he fixed the car. God wouldn't allow terrible things to happen to you if you were good. The very idea that we are all mortal, that we live in a wild and crazy world where everything is not always fair, that good guys don't always win and that a birthday present may not make you feel better, was, and sometimes still is, shocking.

Of course I am old enough to know better. I have hit the potholes in life and been totally washed clean of my childhood naivete. It really is not so much that bad things can happen, but that they sometimes happen to good people doing all the right things at all the right times. The idea that at the core of all things chance might be the determining factor is overwhelmingly depressing. It is much easier to live day to day if you allow for the delusion or illusion that someone somewhere is in charge and they are looking out for you and your world. Whether it be karma, fate, God, or a bit of optimistic thinking, sometimes you've just gotta believe it will all work out. Today, I believe.