07 September, 2011

Windgazer Ridge Hike of Legends

Okay, so the most noteworthy item of the summer has to be the hike that Court and I went on last weekend. This, before any other hike, bike, walk, climb, prance, dance, promenade, or stroll, is the ultimate in using your motor skills to get from point A to B. Granted, point A is in an old parking lot, and point B? Well, let's just say it's about 3000 feet up and only about a mile or less away (As the crow flies, so they say.)

Long ago, two young men decided that they should find a way up to the top of Bridal Veil Falls to see the old tram house that was destroyed in an avalanche, and then burned down. Nathanael and I had explored every inch of Bridal Veil and had decided we'd have to find a less obvious way up there, as the falls themselves are not climbable for someone of our skill.

This dream lasted for almost 4 years, until Court and I found a way to do it. We drove 2 canyons to the east and found our ticket to glory. Court and I began exploring this canyon almost nonchalantly, just to see what the terrain would be like, and if it was passable. Well, it was, but only barely. We figured we could hike UP this canyon, OVER to Bridal Veil canyon, and DOWN to the top of the falls.

Two years ago, we decided it was time. We grabbed one pack, filled it with water and energy bars, and took off. We hiked past an old cougar den, 2 rock-slides, and a hidden waterfall/spring, before we realized this was going to take more than an afternoon to conquer. We went from the spring, into the steepest, thickest, coolest forest we had ever seen. The pine needles and soil were about a foot or so deep and hadn't been disturbed, it seemed, in millennia. As we grabbed at roots, branches, trunks, and brush, we pulled ourselves up the slope toward an outcropping of rock. As we rested at this outcropping, the full brunt of what we were accomplishing seemed to hit us. We were climbing a mountain without trail or gear.

We had made it this far in previous hikes, but we continued on into uncharted territory. There was no way anyone else had made this same trek... We continued to climb past more outcropping, more forest, and more slopes. At some places, the only way to get up was to grab at a plant or scrub oak, and pull yourself up using only that plant to support your weight. Needless to say, it was treacherous at times.

We climbed past what we now call "The Jut", an outcropping of rock that juts out off of a wooded cliff, and is the steepest, scariest part of the hike. Keep in mind that the day we decided to attempt this, it was raining a little and the rock was also a bit slick. As we crested "Gazer Crest", we saw it in the distance... Windgazer Ridge. This Ridge has haunted our dreams since that day, as we were forced to turn back at this point. We were not destined to finish the journey that day.

And so it was last weekend, with much planning and excitement, we packed our bags and sent off again toward the Ridge. This time, we took a lot more breaks. Granted, we both had 40 lb packs with sleeping bags and food this time. We still made good time though and were at the ridge by lunchtime. We passed the cougar den, rock-slides, springs, forest, outcroppings, etc and found a place to eat. By this point two years ago, we were ready to turn back because we were shot. This time, we trudged onward and upward into another overgrown forest. Through thick brush, eons-old fallen trees, and even a spider web (The spider was the size of the tip of my thumb.) We climbed farther than we'd ever been, but it seemed that we would never make it.

After a good half-hour rest, we checked our coordinates and were faced with a decision. By this point, we were almost out of water. The only stream was still a good 5 hours away. We were tired... More tired than we'd ever been on a hike. Oh, and it was getting late enough in the day that we wondered if we would have enough daylight to make it to the river by nightfall (Where we would still have to FIND a place to camp and build a fire.) We also figured that, if we were this tired right now, how bad would it be the next morning when we would have to do it all over again on the way back.

That being said, we turned our backs yet again on the prize and began the long, arduous journey back down the mountain. Were we disappointed? Maybe a little bit... We've been looking forward to this for years... But honestly? We're pretty proud of ourselves. That was MUCH farther than we'd ever been, and this time we had heavy packs. We also decided there might be a better way up to the top that would take less time and energy next time. We still have next year or the year after, and now we know what we're facing and can train and prepare a little better.

Okay, story over? Not yet...

Well, Nathanael was going to come with us, as it was he and I that originally conceived of the idea. He felt bad about having to ditch us last minute, but we didn't blame him because he had an awesome job lined up instead. Well, as we were climbing back down (we could see our car from here) I got a call from Nith asking where we were and how it was going. I shared with him our lament, and he seemed to be very sympathetic. What I didn't realize until he told me was that he was planning on surprising us. He had gotten off work early and had quickly packed a bag and began running up the mountain. It was touching to me that he was planning on coming after all and had made every preparation to do so. It would have been killer awesome to have all three of us camping at the top of the falls. It would have worked, except for the fact that we weren't there... He was about as high as we had been from what we can tell (Which in and of itself is quite impressive) and it was getting dark.

Therein lay the problem. There's all sorts of cliffs and crags and holes on this hike and it's not exactly an easy grade. Well, we figured that, in order to ensure that he lived, we'd wait for him to get back down. We watched with bated breath and made him promise to text us every half hour with updates to make sure he didn't die (Neither of which, of course, did he do...) Anyway, he made it down from a height that would have taken us two hours, in roughly a quarter of that time.

It goes without saying that we are all very impressed with his fitness and dexterity, blah blah blah... Anyway, we'll just have to remember that next time, and maybe we'll give ourselves a nice head-start. Like... 5 hours or so?

(Pics to follow soon)