Kev's Birthday Adventure!Jul 9, 2004
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The Range of Light paints a postcard!
Swiss mountain stream fairy!
Humping the "Big Load" past 2nd Lake.
Every year I try to do something adventurous for my birthday in order to not grow old (or up) to fast. Also, I have wanted to show Tina the Palisades Glacier and surrounding peaks for years, so it worked out perfect. We camped and sorted gear in Big Pine Canyon, and then headed out with heavy packs on my birthday. After seven hours and 9 miles we made camp beside a braided stream flanked with wild flowers in Sam Mack Meadow. After a fine meal of Ramon fiesta supprise, Tina treated me to an apricot, Snickers, cookie, B-cake with a candle, along with a rum/vodka toast! 34 years old and still carring stupidly heavy packs of gear into the mountains to enjoy a few hours of climbing glee, now with the Love of my life. Does it get any better? Next day we rested as I took GPS points along the glacier for a GIS project next semester. On the third day we got a 4:00AM alpine start and headed for the U-Notch colour. Seven beautiful pitches of alpine ice, lunch in the notch, and then hours of rappelling, added up to a very tiring, but rewarding, 14 hour day. We were nackered, but smiling! The next day we blasted out the trail back to the heat of the valley and some most anticipated gas station showers. Then the long road around the Sierras to see more friends under the giant tress.
