Desolation Peak

Walking on the heavens

Pacific Northwest

Turn down the lights, turn down the bed
Turn down these voices inside my head
Lay down with me, tell me no lies
Just hold me close, don't patronize - don't patronize me

- Bon Iver - I Can't Make You Love Me/Nick of Time

   After spending much of the day at Sam's buying bulk groceries, an asian grocery store snooping around, bouncing a tiny basketball all over Walmart, and finally sorting through the $700 plus in groceries and supplies needed for our trip, the eight Moondance Leaders in Seattle set out on a quest for food in a district north of downtown.
   Over an hour later we were hungrier than ever and, after misinterpreting our intended route, headed back towards downtown to eat at Duke's, a terrific seafood restaurant (bacon blue cheese burger nom nom) along the water overlooking beautiful sailboats and yachts. It took a while to find, but we ate well. Everyone but myself and the driver was asleep before we hit the interstate on the way home.

   Tomorrow morning we will all head to the airport to meet and pick up a handful of teenagers that we will come to know and love and find friendships with over the next three weeks.
   My co-leaders, ET and Mary Elizabeth, and myself are going to be leading eight young men. We are so excited. We will begin by backpacking up the eastern shore of Ross Lake, in northern/central Washington State, for six days. We'll come together as a group and probably bond more during this time than any other part of the trip. Halfway through the journey we will summit a testy mountain called Desolation Peak.
   While on this trip as a teenager I was fortunate enough to summit Desolation, and last year I did it again, only it was snowing heavily at the top. It was insane! I can't wait to give it a go this time. Imagine climbing up wet stairs with a light pack for six hours in the middle of the night, cold and wet. Imagine making it to the top just as the sun starts to warm the sides of the mountain, then knocking on the door to the fire watcher's tiny house and warming yourself by his small wood stove as y'all talk about the journey, the weather, and life. The word I think best describes this feeling is alive. In less than a week we experiencing this.

Tomorrow starts an adventure. I'm ready.

The view coming back down Desolation Peak

Simplify

Simplify Simplify. - H.D. Thoreau

One "simplify" would have sufficed. - Ralph Waldo Emerson in response.

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Today was a good day. 

Starting slow by having to wait three and a half hours for the rental vans to be cleaned, the waiting paid off in the form of a delicious double cheeseburger from a tiny local joint. Thank you Bob.

Today involved:

The original REI,

Chocolate covered cherries,

Cold beers watching the sun go down from a rooftop on the waterfront of Seattle's fish market,

Ninja in an empty parking lot,

A strung out Native American telling us we were freaking him out (playing Ninja),

Welcoming Bill after his long flight,

Eating salads for dinner at 9:30 pm at a local restaurant, much to the dismay of the kitchen crew.

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And now, my eyes heavy, I'm laying in bed just ready to welcome sleep. The other guys are already snoring. It's been a good day. Tomorrow will be busy finishing our preparations for the trips. Then comes Wednesday...and a new adventure.

Summer

I left for the summer today.
I said goodbye to the girl I love, and boarded a plane with seven friends, not to return for six weeks.
I saw one of the most beautiful things I think I'll ever see - from as far ahead out of my window to as far back as I could see was one of the most violent storms I've witnessed. Lightening was firing like neurons fire in the brain when one must feel incredible excitement.
The sky almost never darkened. It was strange, frightening and beautiful.
It's 5:27 AM in Seattle, and I'm going to sleep. Goodnight

The Gold is Gone by Charge Group