The dark faded as the sun made way for another morning on the mountain. It was a cool, quiet morning as we crawled out of our tents. I had a good morning stretch and a cup of coffee before I stripped my pack of nonessential gear for the hike up the hillside to glass a large basin. 

We had made a plan the night before, while standing around the fire, to scout it out a few hours before heading deeper. We climbed with excitement but my lightweight pack felt extremely heavy again. The burn in my chest would flow to my legs. This would quickly come to ease as I stopped to fill my lungs with oxygen again. The ground was steep and rocky. We gained substantial elevation in a short distance. Honestly, we didn’t climb that far before we stopped to look around. We could see a fair amount of ground from this position. Some time was spent here looking and discussing the next move. A decision was made to head back, roll up camp, and head in deeper on the trail. 

It was only a little over a half mile to an intersecting trail. This trail we would take to make our grand loop. As we approached the head of the trail, I spotted a wall tent. This is one of those big white canvas tents on poles. In front of this tent stood an old man. He was standing with his back to us and had no idea we were near. To startle this fellow in the smallest way, I simply said hello in a quiet fashion to get his attention. He immediately turned, recognized we meant no harm and asked, “Where did you come from”. We explained and then he stated that he and two others were packed in on horses for 11 miles out of a different direction, they were from Oregon, and they haven’t seen hide nor track of any game animal. Although, he mentioned a pack of howling wolves they had heard just after dark and across the creek the night before. He had a rough previous day so he was recovering at camp.

The biggest concern for the next leg of this journey would be water. The trail would lead up high and stay high running a ridge line. We had a choice to make. You know, in life, there’s always a choice. Some are neither right nor wrong. Some may be good or bad. Then, some can be life or death. We chose to get water at last known water source along trail side. This would add tremendous weight to the climb but would possibly save us from dropping steep elevation just to obtain water. Even with this extra amount of water, I knew time would be crucial if everything went as it should. 

How little did we know of the miles ahead.