The sun breaks the darkness for another morning on the mountain. I woke and knew immediately this wasn’t going to be a quick roll-out. My old climbing gear was a little stiff, but nothing a good stretch wouldn’t take care of. Unfortunately, no coffee due to the fact I was now down to about 2 liters of water. I was in desperate need to make it last. 

We were down to the last day of food. We knew this could be stretched another day if need arose. The plan was to simply get out unless we found elk within reason. Of course, nothing in this particular area is within any good reason. There was at least 10 miles of trail, by the map, to get back to the truck. The trail looked to run a ridge with a little elevation gain and lose here and there. Seemed reasonably simple. Looked very much doable in a day. Until it wasn’t. 

The trail started out well- traveled but soon became very hard to follow. In some places it was nonexistent. In others, very unused and full of blown-down logs. 

Just before the trail played out, we crossed our first fresh elk track. I was excited to discover they do exist here. This guy was on the move and going in the opposite direction. I was to believe the track could’ve been days old, too. We elected to keep moving and glass into the basin that looked as if he dropped into. Water is running extremely low at this point and Hagen was getting concerned that he would run out. He was already dehydrating and having leg cramps. 

Don’t stop when you are tired, stop when you are done. 

– Roy Roth

If you follow Cameron Hanes, you know of Roy. If not, I’ll give a brief description. Cam is a bow hunter, athlete, author, podcaster, inspirational mountain hunting beast. Roy was his best friend. He introduced him to bow hunting and possibly saved his life by doing so. He definitely changed Cam’s life. Roy was a natural. He was tough, strong, and loved a good hunting challenge. He lived big. I wish he would’ve written a book before his death. He fell off a cliff, on a sheep hunt in Alaska. Unfortunately, he didn’t survive the fall. If you’re interested in learning more, Cam released an Alaskan bear hunt this past spring on YouTube. It’s a tell-all of Roy. He visits Roy’s home and is on his first trip back to Alaska since Roy’s death. However, his legacy lives on through his wife and Cam. 

I thought about this quote all day on this last leg to get out. It was a real struggle. No words, nor pictures will ever do this day justice. I kept saying I can do anything for a few hours. And, if I can do a few hours, I can do it for a day. 

Eventually,  we lost the trail altogether. Sometimes we would find the old remains of a camp, cut ends of half- rotted logs, indentations of the trail that was once traveled by hunters/hikers well before this decade. It was getting late. The shadows were getting long. The air was cooling. And worse, we knew our water was getting scarce. I discussed with Hagen whether to fall off to get water or press on to the road.  I let him decide. He was dehydrated. His back and legs were in great pain, also. He chose to carry on. That was good with me because I wasn’t done. 

The trail became nonexistent just before sunset. I had a feeling deep down that it wasn’t going to be a welcomed couple of hours ahead. The map was showing the trail switch backing up a rocky face that we could still see. I wanted to explore it a bit to be able to make a conscious decision. Light was fading quickly. We climbed half way up without any luck in finding anything resembling a trail. Hagen wanted to get to the top, as it’s always hard to lose the elevation you just gained. We topped out as the dark set in. I rushed around the knob to get sight on what was ahead of us. What I found wasn’t what I had hoped for. It was one huge rock slide and within minutes I was using my headlamp to see a few feet in front of myself. This was going to be a challenge with two good legs. My partner had two good trekking poles and two bad legs. I had only taken a couple of sips from my water bladder in the last hour or so. I wasn’t dehydrated but knew my partner was and would soon be completely out. I was tired earlier, but now, I am numb. It didn’t hurt in one single spot. I knew this was just getting started and I had to reset to get started with it. 

Slowly, we make our way across and down this rock slide. I stayed within a few trees and fallen logs. I figured they would break the slide if one of us took a slip. It was a sandy, loose rock slide. Take a step and then step another while striding forward, you would drop a few feet in the same stride. I kept in rhythm to stay vertical. The loose rock became more stable, bigger rock. I was ahead trying to find the path of least resistance for Hagen. Now, Hagen is by no means a quitter or weak. I don’t want him or anyone else thinking so. I know he wasn’t well but he pushed right on through like a champ where most would have quit. He kept apologizing for going slow. Slow was okay with me but quitting wasn’t. It wasn’t even an option at this point. He is way too big for me to drag or tote. I gave him the last of my water and simply did the best I could to encourage us both that the road was near. 

We finally made it past the worst of the slide. We stopped for our last rest. This is where I knew the only way out was straight up. Holding on with hands and feet, we made our last ascent. The climb seemed like hours. In actuality, it was probably 30 minutes at max. Finally, we topped out and it was a feeling similar to pulling an ingrown toenail and finding a 20 dollar bill in a coat pocket you haven’t worn since last spring. 

There’s still 3 miles of road ahead of us before we get to my truck. After maybe a half mile, Hagen gave a reasonable suggestion. He said, in a thick, dehydrated tongue, “Hey, we should drop packs then drive up here to get them”. The absolute best idea he had the whole trip. 

It was one foot in front of the other for miles. At this point, my mind felt at ease but the pain had set back in. Every part of me hurt. I even got nauseous. We eventually got to the truck, sucked some water down, made the trip to pick up packs, then back to set up camp. 

We started this journey somewhere around 8 am. We ended it after 2 am the next morning. This made for a 22 mile trek with near 6,000 ft elevation loss and near 6,000 ft elevation gain. I am wiser, stronger, and humbled. Yet still, hungry for the next one. For today, we are done…. Snow is in the forecast.