king's peak

i had the 4th of july weekend off! this is what i did! it was amazingly fun!! i went with genevieve who had done this hike before... conveniently though, she led us up the wrong peak! seriously! on saturday we summitted what i named "jester peak" as it was laughing at us the whole time we spent scrambling up it. when we got to the top to gloat in our triumph, i looked around and said, "hey gen... that peak's taller!" her response "ah... yes... THAT looks more familiar!" after hitting the top of the ACTUAL king's peak, we went back to our base camp at a lake (i'm currently brain-farting and can't remember it's name). oh, and while at the top, other random hikers had brought up fireworks and lit them off, so i did get to see some fireworks! sunday, we hiked around a 9-ish mile loop-ish... all these ish's are important... we wandered off trail to a waterfall, and also took a wrong turn a little later. well, it wasn't so much of "making a wrong turn" as it was "not turning onto the right trail." about a mile past our last sign, and halfway up a REALLY long hill, i complaining said, "genevieve, are you SURE this is the right trail?" (we were getting farther from the valley wall we were supposed to be getting closer to) her response, "have i done this part of the trail before?" as she turns around to not-so-sarcastically ridicule me for complaining she says, "i don't know, but look at that view!" it was indeed a magnificent view of the whole valley we had hiked including king's peak the day before. had i not complained, we would have completely overlooked the view, and we would be somewhere on the highline trail still... good thing i complained about the long uphill! we did indeed turn around and eventually found the sign that had fallen over down the hill from where we were hiking... we didn't get lost.
lunch time was fun on sunday, as we were hiking in the valley that the thunder clouds were surrounding... hiking with gen is great. we both get hungry at the same time (which is always, i'll admit). we decided on an abandoned camp-site to sit on some rocks under a tree for lunch. we thought it would be wise to sit a few minutes and assess the bug situation. about 30 seconds after sitting under the tree, a rather rash hailstorm blew through. and the bugs completely disappeared so we could eat in peace! well, as peaceful as you can eat while crouching under a pine tree in a hailstorm.
another momentous occasion this trip was a simple stream-ish crossing. genevieve is a swimmer. a really good swimmer. swimming to her is ultimate frisbee to me (not to brag... ahem) anyway... so the stream crossing... we were about 4 miles in on the loop-ish trail and came to this relatively deep and wide stream. prior to this we could hop rocks, leap across, wobble across a log, or find some other way around having to take off our shoes and ford. after looking for a few minutes both upstream and down, i said, "well, i know how i'm getting across!" and promptly removed my hiking boots and socks and waded into the cold rushing "stream". sure, my feet hurt by now, and stepping on rocks in icy water that was waste high (not exaggerating) was painful, but i crossed, no problem. as soon as i get to the other side, i hear "ow!!!" *pause* "OW!!" *pause* a small thud and rustling of the bushes which would be genevieve's shoes hitting the shore. in her struggle, she thought it wise to toss her shoes, so she would have SOMETHING dry to look forward to. you would think that such a good swimmer would be able to handle some rushing water... you would think... she's about halfway across, arms flailing, feet slipping... it takes all that i have in me not to laugh hysterically, but being the good friend that i am ask, "do you need help?" *no answer* me- "i'm coming..." i wade back in and give her two arms to brace against as she finishes crossing... her only reponse "i'm a SWIMMER... i never said anything about WALKING in water." the main lesson learned: goretex is great for keeping you dry in a rainstorm, snow storm and hailstorm, but if you try to go swimming, well... it doesn't keep you dry.
on monday, we slept in, packed up and hiked out... i was extremely fond of my mad bear-bag setting up skills. tied a rock to a rope, threw it over a tree branch, fed it down, hooked the food to the bag and hoisted it back up. that's pure talent right there! it was quite entertaining watching a squirrel's brain process how he was going to get the the food that was hanging in the bag... i WISH animals came with thought bubbles! though, it's entertainment enough just thinking what they're thinking.
king's peak 13,524ft. it's a good one!!
memorable quotes from this trip:
me-"i wonder how that commando guy's doing?" (in reference to the man wearing cammoflauge... commando... camo... same thing...)
gen-"is that your fart or mine?"
me, a few moments later-"holy shit!! light a match or something!"
gen-"no! i don't want to blow up the tent!" (it doesn't take a genius to figure out what this is in reference to)