thompson peak |
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| intro
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....the summit! a group of 5 had already gathered at the top (including a father and his 9-year-old son, mark). immediately, i heard tom yelling up from the other side asking how to get up. but with some directions yelled back to him, he corrected his path and joined us shortly via the gully. the effect of reaching the top was heightened by the gully suddenly opening up to a 360 degree view of the snow-dusted sawtooth mountains, the salmon river valley, and numerous mountain ranges in the distance. (checking a map later revealed that we could see at least 80 miles) we all engaged in some light-hearted conversation, but most of my time was spent simply sitting and taking in the immense beauty of my surroundings. complete silence hit us from all directions while a light cool breeze creeped over the summit. perhaps most impressive was a 2,000' drop on the east face of the mountain, straight down to no-name lake where we started.
turning around gave a view deep into the heart of the sawtooth wilderness.
after a short while, the father and son departed, followed by the 3 construction workers from ketchum. tom signed the summit register (a book kept at the summit in a metal box for climbers to sign and write comments about their hikes) and descended. sitting there, i could hardly take my eyes off the horizon. an overpowering urge to sit there until the stars appeared clouded my mind. but, alas, common sense took over. i took in one last eyeful, said my goodbyes to this beautiful place, and commenced to make my way slowly back down.
the end... |
