Above Desolation Lake
Stuck at 10,600' and nowhere to go
|
As per normal we were all up and about by 7 AM under partly cloudy skies. Sky Pilot mountain, to our northeast and , was shrouded in clouds while all points south were mostly clear. Of course, we’d be hiking toward the clouds and I had to wonder what kind of crappy weather we’d experience later.
After a nutritious breakfast of artificially flavored orange drink and a Spamä & cheese burrito we were packing up when Reed exclaimed “where’s my $%*&!@ trekking pole?”
I knew exactly what had happened: it was the deer making a covert foray back into our camp to sabotage Reed.
While it was sort of funny, losing a pole with his heels rubbed raw was not a laughing matter. Luckily we were able to find the AWOL pole within 100’ of Reed’s tent.
Shortly before 9 AM we were saddled up and ready to go. Today looked to be rather demanding with some tough climbing, both up and down, between Castle Lake and Sky Pilot or Throop Lakes. I wasn’t looking forward to the 500’climb up from Crystal Lake up to Maryott Lake at all. We’d come down from there last year and vividly remembered how steep the descent. Going up would be no bargain.
For now, however, we were enjoying a leisurely walk through the meadows up to Crystal Lake. I thought about taking us past Alp Lake and then up the falls as we’d done in 2008, but thought we’d be better served taking the more direct route as we had no guarantee the weather would hold and we had some distance to do.
The 250’ climb up to Crystal was a good tune up for what was to come. We’d have to do another 500’ but weren’t sure where we’d be climbing. We were about ¼ of a mile away from the area where we’d come down last year so after checking out our options decided to go for the low point of the wall of talus ahead and then work our way over to Maryott.
The half hour climb proved to be straight-forward but moderately difficult due to the smaller rocks which would shift on nearly every step. If I had my druthers I would have preferred the grassier slopes to the north but this route was definitely more exciting and provided one of the more dramatic moments of the trip.
We took a break beside a small tarn up at the pass and watched the clouds continue to roll in from the north. A big ‘ol country boy at heart, the Kid showed off the arm that made him famous on the baseball diamond at Alabama-Huntsville by skipping a stone across the tarn. Hoping to catch this super-human feat on my camera Tye was able to repeat his initial throw and history was made in that I’m quite positive that no one else has ever skipped a stone across that tarn before.
|
Once we slung our packs it only took about 20 minutes to work our way over to Maryott Lake. After some more easy walking we decided to stop between Maryott and Donelson Lake for lunch before heading up to High Pass.
As we were finishing our lunch the first drops of rain began to fall and we were left with a dilemma: Go for the pass and try to get down the other side or hole up down here and wait for the rain and potential lightning to stop.
We decided to go for the pass.
We’d climbed about 400’ when the weather took a turn for the worse and we were forced to seek shelter behind another large boulder. Unfortunately, unlike a couple of days ago, this particular rock did not afford us the coverage the previous one did, leaving us all somewhat exposed.
The temperature, which had dropped into the 40’s, combined with the heavier rain made for a miserable wait but things got worse when it started to hail. The pea-sized pellets were coming down hard, every once in a while making a “tinging” sound when they’d strike a trekking pole.
|
After a few minutes the hail stopped but we could still see rain falling all around us. So we waited.
Brad, wearing shorts, started to get cold and put on his pack and started hiking again to keep warm. Ward was also starting to get cold and began doing jumping jacks to warm up. Reed took refuge under his poncho.
A half-hour or so passed without anyone dying, but it was clear that we weren’t going to make High Pass today and started to formulate a plan. Everyone was cold and was willing to set up a camp even if only temporary so we could climb into our sleeping bags and warm up. Some of the fellas wanted to go back down to Donelson and set up camp there, but I didn’t want to give back the elevation and suggested we drop about 75’ down to a grassy bench that looked like it could accommodate 5 shelters.
Instead of waiting for a consensus I shouldered my pack and made a beeline to the bench that was indeed large enough for all of us and had a small rivulet of water trickling down to Donelson. We even had a stellar view of Lonesome Mountain as well as Maryott and Donelson Lakes.
The next 5 hours were spent with everyone huddled inside their shelters. I don’t know what the others did, but I passed the time eating, playing with the GPS, looking at maps, writing in my journal, wishing I had brought my 25° bag and eventually taking a short nap. Oh, and I shivered for a while as well which, surprise, is why I wished I had brought the warmer sleeping bag. Exciting stuff.
At 8:30 I popped out of the tent to check out the weather and noted no difference and promptly went back inside, fairly depressed at how the trip was turning out.
I decided to do a little inventory of all the things that had gone wrong and almost started to cry.
|
First there was the hassle and expense of getting two new tires for the truck. Call it $300 and two hours of lost time.
 |
||
Next, a tow from Roscoe to Billings---another $300, plus another $20 for a ride to Alpine, plus the pain and suffering for the past 5 days plus the wasted 3 hours for everyone.
Then there was the unknown expense to fix what I would later learn was the trailer arm. Knowing nothing about vehicles other than how to change oil, I figured this would be another $1000.
So I figure I’m in for an extra $1500 which could buy a lot of new gear as well as fund next year’s trip.
Then the thought that all the automotive expenses were probably going to be wasted since I knew I’d definitely have to get a new before next summer anyway.
Then there was the horrible weather that had kept us all cooped up inside at night, depriving us of those hilarious “campfire” chats after dinner. In all my trips to the Rockies combined I hadn’t experienced weather like this.
Finally, my camera battery was showing low power and both spares had somehow lost their charge. More great newson the eve of what I thought would be the most scenic day of the trip.
On the bright side nobody had gotten hurt and all seemed to still be having a good time despite the unforeseen events.
Maybe tomorrow would be better?
|
|
|
