[9/19/2024] Nighttime Escape to Esmeralda Trailhead
The night before I had dreamt that I was at the house I used to live in the University District. There happened to be a huge river bed or glacial silt area in the backyard. It was filled with cascading granite and fallen trees. A young man, who was attending some kind of meeting at the house, had gone outside and was doing work moving the trees and boulders in the glacial area behind the house. I enjoy dreams with landscapes, especially when I’d actually be experiencing those landscapes in the near future.
There was another scene in the dream where I experienced uncertainty about a relationship. I felt unsure where I stood. I felt jealousy and the need to exert control. Luckily, I’d be going into the backcountry where issues reach balance and where these kinds of issues tend to resolve themselves.
The day ended with an epic beach party for my friend Cole at Golden Gardens. One of his close friends had led the charge and printed matching shirts with a design my cousin drafted. We all surprised Cole at the beach, imbibed spirits and played volleyball into the dark. My girlfriend, Mia, had returned from Europe earlier in the day. Instead of waking her up, I made the decision to pack up and head straight to the Esmeralda Trailhead.
I reached the trailhead around 11:30pm and setup a cowboy campsite in front of my car. The inflatable pad have has an imperceptible hole in it. So around 4am I got out and blew it up. The stars were dazzling, but I was hot because I was sleeping in my zero degree bag even though it was only about 55 degrees out.
[9/20/2024] Our Assault on the South Ingalls Peak
We met in the parking lot at the prescribed 7:30, and were on the trail by a little after 8am. In the group we had, Meryl (the leader), Nate (her partner), Sydney, Jennifer and Shirley. Nate and I hiked ahead of the group in order to establish an ideal campsite. On the way up, I learned that Nate, among many things, has a good sense of music. We chatted about a range of music, like Jane’s Addiction, Smile and Johnny Mar. Mar being the artist Nate and Meryl would be seeing live that Saturday night in Seattle. We also chatted about the cultural differences between Olympia, Tacoma and Seattle. Nate mentioned that Olympia apparently has a strong Metal scene. I fell back on my common refrain; that Tacoma is industrial grunge and Seattle lost its soul long again, with many of its detractors escaping to Tacoma.
The weather was clear, with the exception of the occasional cloud. It was a balmy 65 degrees and it was a perfect day to make our way up to South Ingalls peak.
We scrambled up the boulder field towards the col. I took the lead because I hadn’t read Meryl’s pre-trip email close enough and hadn’t brought my helmet.
On the final push to the summit, I felt euphoric. The feeling was partly due to bagging another summit. But it was more so due to achieving a sort of personal triumph during the walk up. Prior to the trip, I had been feeling uncertain about how a few of my relationships were shaking out. I think there were some fears of loss. But I realized while walking up that ultimately the actions of others are out of your hands. Grasping at and attempting to control relationships is a great way to smother them. Rather, the best way to empower your relationships and life is to achieve personal excellence. This includes achieving personal triumphs and helping others achieve theirs.
I was feeling euphoric but exhausted. I had reached the summit in under 2 hours after leaving camp. I enjoyed a tuna sandwich on a preztilla bun (cheaper alternative to historical go-to from Safeway, “The Duo”). While waiting for the others, I lied down and dosed off to the occasional chatter of climbers pitching their way up the North Ingalls peak.
It was about 45 minutes later that I raised my head to see the rest of the group making their way up the final push to the summit. After regrouping, Meryl, Sydney and I continued the traverse over to Fortune Peak.
On the way to Fortune, there were the occasional class 5 moves while circumventing a couple of the spires between the peaks. Otherwise, it was a fun and uneventful climb. We reached Fortune Peak in just under an hour and half, and it was only about 3:30pm. I enjoyed my lunch for the next day, which happened to also be a Preztilla sandwich – I justified it by concluding that we’d be back at the cars before lunch the next day. There was a turquoise lake at the basin due West of Esmeralda Peak that looked irresistible. I wanted to flag it for another trip, but couldn’t find it on Gaia. Even now, I can’t find it on Google Maps.
I down-climbed from Fortune, returning to camp by 4:30pm. On the way back, near the creek, I found the group of Mountaineers I’d heard earlier climbing the North peak. It turned out they were from the Foothills branch. They provided some valuable beta spray about taking the Esmerelda trail up to Fortune Peak, traversing through South Ingalls and then back to the trailhead through Longs pass.
I settled into my tent and napped until dinner time. By the time I rejoined, group had basically already finished dinner. But it was a kind group and they chatted while I put together my latest camp rations. Tonight it was a dried soup packet with Chicken Fajita Mountain House. I’m slowly transitioning away from Mountain Houses, but last night was a whirlwind getting ready. My 85% chocolate bar came in clutch with the group as it didn’t seem they had any dessert. Nate mentioned Grocery Outlet sometimes has good deals on Lindt chocolate bars.
Meryl provided some interesting beta about international travel and living. She mentioned that Lucca would be an interesting place to live. Sure enough, looking it up later, this place looks like an incredible travel destination. It probably wouldn’t be too far from the new Dolomites route that opened up last year, Cammino Retico. She also mentioned that Ecuador and Peru are great places to visit. I’ve added those to my travel plans as well.
We enjoyed the Alpenglow on Mt Stuart and were in our respective tents by 8pm. The temperatures had dipped quickly, reaching high low 40s by 7pm. I stayed warmed with some active stretches and ready ‘Learned Optimism’ on a rock face overlooking Mt Stuart and the emerging stars.
[9/21/2024] Camping at Lake Ingalls and Going to the Annual R-Day
We had agreed the day prior to leaving camp by 9am. So I slept in until about 8am, maximizing my slumber. The wind stopped, and it had warmed up a couple of degrees throughout the evening. I’d become a little hot and hadn’t slept particularly restfully again. This was probably because I had gone to bed in my fleece, down jacket, thick leggings and hiking pants. All of this resulting in a distressing dream about a family member trying to get the keys to my apartment.
Again, everyone had basically finished by the time I regrouped. I’ve been telling myself that I’ll start waking up early for the sunrise and socializing on group trips more often. This, however, was apparently not the trip where that would happen. I made my way to the kitchen area of camp to start another custom breakfast. This morning it was leftover oatmeal and coconut powder with scrambled eggs.
With a miniscule amount of fuel left, I heated water for some Tieguanyin green tea and Oatmeal. With the remaining fuel I was able to ‘scramble’ eggs in the pot. Before the trip, I had bought about 2 pounds of powdered eggs for a survival outlet in Utah. The eggs were fluffy and tasty for having been made from a powder. They did, however, stick to the bottom of the pot and would turn out to be difficult to scrub out, even after some soaking. One option might be to try making some kind of poached egg in a soup. We’ll see what comes of these powdered eggs on future trips.
As I packed up camp, I thought about what it means to be outside. I’ve often said that camping is freedom because you’re removed from the daily requirements of civilized life. But this morning, I was thinking that camping is freedom because it’s just that, free. It doesn’t cost anything when you’re out here. You don’t have as many worries because you don’t need to support an expensive lifestyle. I then thought about all of the expenses required to get outside. Nonetheless, it’s sure a hellovalot cheaper than staying at a resort. I often feel like I’ve saved a couple hundred bucks each time I camp and can justify spending more on outdoor gear, since it’s an investment!
We were on the trail by 9am and quickly reached the bottom of the trail. I walked down with my new friend Sydney who informed me of some interesting bouldering beta in Joshua Tree, including a bouldering route called ‘White Rastafarian’. Looking it up later, I’d learn the route with first ascended by John Long and is scary af. Wow, bouldering is something else. On the route down we say several Corvids and enjoyed fine 65 degree weather as we reached the trailhead.
I was back in Seattle by 3pm, in time for the annual R-Day festivities in George Town.
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