heh heh... recovering in my cubicle today. Still rehydrating.
Bob Pickering did what he came to do: Glacier Ridge and Whaleback. Our exploratory hike up Cloud Canyon on Friday turned into a "I think I'll go ahead and try it" on Triple Divide. I'll call that my "Epic Stupid" day. Started up the canyon and got a bad case of summit fever, so I just kept going.
Unfortunately, the "Third Class" is actually "third class my ass"! The ridge that Secor rates at third class is easy at first, but becomes really narrow, with lots of blocks and slabs and drops to work your way around. The going was really slow, and the exposure on some of the moves was really exposed. Due to the late time, I had to call it off about 300 yards from the summit.
Then came the descent... My right knee is so messed up that descending is slower than climbing. Darkness fell as I was half way down the slope to the creek. Fortunately due to the slow progress, I felt fine -- no physical exhaustion issues. Drinking lots of water and snacking along the way, I was ok. Amazing how the body can hold up on a long day. If anyone was checking, I reached our camp at 12:30 AM. My wife was wondering what the heck I was doing. The InReach was a good tool to assure her I was fine. Definitely the "Epic Stupid" hike of my career.
But it allowed me to rest and fish on Saturday while Bob checked off Whaleback. Did you know you can actually fry fish over an Esbit tablet and titanium wing stove, using a 6" titanium plate and potholder. I should have kept more than the two small 6-inchers. That was a kick.
I'll write a better trip report later.
