DAY FOUR:
Up at 6 a.m. to be out door by 7:15 a.m.-- that's the way it works when you want to climb one of the 10,000-footers. That particular morning, it was, as we say, "ass cold," even at 3,500 feet. From the previous days' rain, there was snow on the pass and high winds besides. Not the best day to attempt a climb, but the best weather we could hear in the week;y forecast. We weren't optimistic about summiting our goal peak, Mt. Siyeh. Nevertheless, we decided to hike three miles in to Preston Park, one of the most beautiful mountain valleys in Glacier and assess the climb from there.
As we gained elevation and broke through the treeline into mountain meadows, the landscape looked more and more like what Rachel described as "a Harry Potter movie." At the foot of the mountain, Justin picked an ascent route and led us up what we thought the proper stream bed to begin the climb. Unfortunately, the greatest part of the peak was shrouded in swirling clouds and only parkway up, we saw that the clefts on the face that led most easily to the summit were packed solid with snow and slippery with ice. We turned around, and luckily, too, for we later learned that we'd chosed the improper route-- one that might have gotten us "treed" with improper preparation.
We backtracked to the two lakes below Siyeh�s high skree shoulder and followed another stream up to the pass, back into the wind. The higher we got, the windier it was, and the more exposed we were to the stinging snow forced from the clouds. But at the top of the shoulder, above a sheer cliff dropoff, the whiteness parted and exposed the valley hidden more than a thousand feet below the pass. We stood at the edge of the world, our back to their fierce weather, facing into clear lushness visible all the way into Canada. Up the ridge, along the edge of the cliff we climbed, until along the face became visible the hidden ledge that Justin�s father had named (aptly) The Garden of the Gods.
In the Garden, we ducked out of the wind and devoured our lunches. In the valley below, a herd of sixteen or more elk grazed in summer bliss around a mitten-shaped lake, oblivious that winter was raging in the peaks above them. We had left Siyeh peak with some reluctance, not just because of a previous failed attempt, three years ago, or our subsequent ECS (Emotional Commitment to the Summit) but because we had wanted to summit that very mountain to fulfill the driving force behind this year�s Glacier trip. While I was still at school in Tokyo and unsure of my summer plans, none of us had been able to commit to a date and didn�t even know if we could make it. Then, Micah emailed me:
Justin and Kat,
Hey there guys, I know we've had some issues trying to schedule Glacier this year, I'm not really sure where the plans stand right now and such and I've just refused to think about the possiblity of *not* going until just recently. I hate to put more pressure on you and such, and really I'm not writing this email to do so, I just wanted to find out if there was anything else we could do to work in even a short trip up there with you guys.
The thing is, I've been planning (I know, I should have talked with you about this) to ask Rachel to marry me on top of a mountain in Glacier this summer.��She doesn't know about this so shhhh, dont tell anyone.��I know the moment anyone in the friend group catches wind of it the gig will be up so NO talking =).
I have backup plans as well so if we really can't work anything out, that's cool too.��Rachel has talked with her professors and if she were to miss a week of class they recommended that she simply not take the class at all since they are only 4 week classes. Stupid College of Ed.
Anyway, this is my last ditch plea! =)��Thanks again for being so patient with us, lots of things have been changing in our lives recently and I know it has made planning this year very difficult!
Take care, hope to hear from you both soon!
Micah
It took a $250 plane ticket change and shaving four days off a fabulous family trip to my home state, Michigan, but we made it and now were faced with the only unpreventable circumstance that might keep us from any summit: weather. I had asked Micah that morning to consider what he wanted to do in the event that we not summit Siyeh and, weather pending, any other peak. The hidden Garden of the Gods, overlooking that hidden paradise, seemed to me as good a place as any. We were getting cold, and it was almost time to keep moving to stay warm. As we packed up to leave, Micah looked at me over Rachel's shoulder and asked me the phrase which we'd termed the "secret code" for 'proposal time'; "Will you take a picture of Rachel and I?" Justin caught on and tackled Rachel in a bearhug as he saw Micah struggling with the ring in his pocket. Once we knew everything was green and Rachel didn't have a clue (*wink*), I backed up to photograph and film the special moment.
The result: a very surprised and flustered Rachel, many kisses, and one newly engaged couple!
Whew. Mission accomplished (thank God, eh?)! Now alls they've got to do is plan the wedding. *grin*
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