Hello, TNAB'ers:
After last week's solstice blowout
bash, this week was a return to TNAB basics: hike/bushwhack/summit/lose
somebody on the trail. The setting this time was
Alicia, Chris, Damon, Dan, Don,
Drew, Larry, Mark, Merrilee (newbie!), and Mike
We also encountered another evening
hike group - the Weeknight Wanderers, out for a peaceful, reflective stroll
around the lakes. No doubt they were as happy to see us as the poor souls
atop Granite last week...
We left the trailhead shortly after
6:00 PM. The weather was cool and overcast - ideal for hiking, but not so
great for views. As many of you know, the hike to the lakes is on a well
maintained, relatively flat trail. Within minutes, our large group split
into two: the faster ones, who couldn't resist jogging the trail, while
the slower ones (myself included), who were saving their energy for the "fun"
parts. The fast group was having so much fun, they took a small tour of
Talapus' left side before returning to the main path.
:)
30 minutes to Talapus, and 30 more
to Olallie. A short distance up Olallie's left bank, Larry's blaze marked
the transition to the next stage: bushwhack/talus scramble to the
ridge! It's quite a sight to see so many people work their way up, each
taking a slightly different route. All too soon, we gained the ridge and
the trail. After a few minutes to regroup and refresh, we took off again
toward the final stage: the great
Larry's second blaze was perfectly
positioned, just like the first. A short bushwhack later we were on the
talus, and zooming in on the summit.
As mentioned before, the skies were
overcast when we started. Fortunately, the cloud layer was thin, and as we
ascended the talus, we were soon basking in sunlight and glimpsing views of the
surrounding mountain tops. By the time we summited, great views stretched
in all directions (there should be numerous pics available on the web
soon).
The bulk of our crew made it to the
top by 7:45 PM - awesome time for the distance! The last bits of snow lay
in the shadows of the trees, still firm enough to walk on, but still wet enough
to make HARD snowballs...gratefully, the few missiles that did fly missed their
Mark...We gathered for around 20 minutes on the summit, happy and sober, then
headed for home.
The group quickly spread out on the
descent, in true TNAB fashion, each person going their own pace. No one
seemed to have any trouble getting back to Olallie, and the end of the group was
doing their best to catch up...which may explain what happened next. All
of us were back to the cars by 9:45 PM, except Damon. No one was really
concerned until around 10:00 PM, when Ali, Drew and Merrilee set out on a
scouting mission. They didn't get past the first bend in the trail when an
older Ford F150 pulled into the parking lot. At first, we figured it was
the forest service, but then the passenger door opens and Damon pops out!
For the second year in a row, someone missed the turn between Olallie and
Talapus, and ended up exiting at the
With the crew intact, we left for
home on a high note. On to the next hike!
Next Week: Hike
On deck: You want it, you got
it: McClellan Butte! It looked spectacular, floating on the clouds
last night - come and see it first hand!
In the Hole: Tentatively
scheduled (as they all are), the first overnight for the season - Melakwa
Lakes/Kaleetan Peak. It just keeps getting better! It's only three
weeks away...
Happy
Hiking,
-Mark
All images and content on these pages are Copyright © 2004 by Dan Scherer. Reproduction without expressed written permission prohibited.