Mt. Ida - Page 2

Hiking Mt. Ida

Updated June 19, 2002

Wherever we looked there was always some tiny detail in plant life to spot... whether it was the little daisy-like white flowers whose tufts stuck up in small clumps under foot... irritating tripping objects waiting to catch a foot and drag you down, or these delicate purple beauties that were bright patches along the ever growing alpine tundra. You just had to open your eyes and look.

Along with the plant life there was evidence of deer, elk and other mountain creatures apparent through animal droppings. We had invaded their turf and they weren't willing to come out and show themselves. I'm certain if my territory was invaded by strangers I probably wouldn't come out either.

We finally reached the top of this plateau. Though we were still far from the intended peak and were certain we took a lengthy detour in the process, the time and effort was well worth it. There wasn't a single solitary soul to be seen and the last people we saw were in the parking lot left behind ages ago, with only a few starting the trail up to peak somewhere. Below us to the west was the road we drove on, our starting point, and now it seemed like a distant memory, a ribbon of pavement, insignificant in size and accomplishment. To the east was a valley behind the peak we were on, isolated in many ways... we had hiked up quite a distance where there was nothing to speak of but the sun on our faces, the wind in our hair and the desire to continue upwards to our final destination.

Beeline to Tree Line...

I was getting a little tired and achy by this point but there was no way I was giving up now. There were clouds all around but still no rain. We kept a heads up for thunder and anything else that might be unexpected and headed towards the direction of Ida... last chance for this one. Our time was running out as near as I could tell and we wouldn't get another opportunity.

About halfway between the two peaks we heard thunder... it sounded like it was coming from the valley behind us but in reality there was no true way to tell where it was really coming from... we kept telling ourselves five more minutes but when it sounded like it was moving in closer and sounding more ominous, that was all we needed to hear to tell us this hike was over.

The Sounds of Silence...

At one moment in time I closed my eyes and for the briefest of moments the wind stopped blowing, the chirping birds in the distance ceased their chatter and the sound of pure silence resonated in my head... it was deafening. I've never encountered such emptiness in the moment and was momentarily filled with the peace of becoming one with what nature intended before so called progress cluttered it all up. It was unreal and I could have reveled in the sound for so much longer...

As much as we wanted to stay and enjoy our surrounding, the wind was getting stronger at times and clouds could be seen both behind and ahead of us. Not one to tempt Mother Nature, we knew our time was limited. We guessed it was around 1 pm or so and storm clouds have a way of sneaking up on you here with all the hidden hills in the surrounding area. We got up and quickened the pace as best we could.

I'm not exactly sure when we found the time to take this picture but I know that the flora picture was taken on another rest break on the way down taking cover... you can never truly take too many pictures!

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And The Thunder Rolls...

And then we saw it again... not the peak, but the path that we were unable to locate earlier on. We jumped onto it after a short rest and continued upwards towards the peak. On the way we saw in the distance this bushy tailed creature that looked like a marmot. Unfortunately, I was unable to get close enough to it as it scurried off and continued about its business. We were pleasantly surprised a few minutes later to see a bighorn sheep coming down from the mountain and heading straight for us! I've seen a dozen or so sightings from the highways and byways but never a sighting like this in the back country wild outdoors. It realized we weren't part of the natural landscape and decided we weren't good company after all... I did manage to get as close as I dare to snap a picture as it rambled off into the distance, bleating once as it disappeared over the hill..

In the distance to where the sheep was heading was the obvious sight of rain... the wind was picking up, too and it was getting colder. We only had to climb up this last ridge to see our destination of Mt. Ida and yet it seemed like forever to get there. I told Brian to go ahead and I would catch up... I was slower than he was but didn't come up this far not to make the top. I watched as he disappeared over the edge and crested the top...

When I caught up, the view behind this peak showed lakes below and on the side of Mt. Ida there was a lot of snow to be seen... spectacular! Brian was checking the map for our location and indicated Mt. Ida was just the next peak over. Everything up to this point seemed to be working out just fine... and then the snow came...

The clouds came in quickly and before we knew it there was snow and wet rain all around us. Our goal at this point was to get to a lower elevation as hypothermia and other bad things can happen at such an altitude. We scrambled back down to the lower ridge after bundling up and were prepared to head back via the path. At this point I really wanted to continue the climb but not in this bad weather. Fortunately, the snow stopped as quickly as it started and we were afforded a second chance to continue to Ida... the path up was difficult but doable and we had the peak in sight now.

It started raining wet snow once again, really just flurries but then the cold wind started... that was the final straw. I suggested getting to tree line elevation and to some partial coverage so we wouldn't get soaked if it came to that. We were so close but it wasn't worth the risk. There was no way I was making the Six O'clock news in this capacity... bad enough to look stupid on national television for not heeding the warnings... and then there was no way I would subject myself to the dangers of nature's unexpected fury.

We bid farewell to the object of our intentions, that being Mt. Ida but still didn't consider this a failure. We reached 12,000+ feet and had a great time doing it... the only thing left was the descent. Not so difficult in light of climbing up hill... or was it?