Mount Allan North Approach June 24, 2018

CONNECTIONS!  

There are many kinds of connections.  There are electrical connections but I'm not into that type of power trip.  There are connections through linkedin but these days I'm letting those go by the way side.  Today the word "connection" is twofold for us.  We are connecting as friends after not sharing playtime in the mountains for almost a year and we are going on a power trip to complete a connection which began in July of last year.  Today the plan in place was to hike up the North Approach to Mount Allan, then at the summit connect with where we reached the summit from the Ribbon Creek Approach on July 27 of last year.  This link makes a connection to my story of that day.  

burst of beauty

We spent quite some time ascending along the trail before it opened up for a presentation.  

Once the show started it captivated me for many, many hours.   

Around every corner, over each hill, down all valleys, there was a view to show appreciation for.

The humidity level was high which ampted up the challenge level.  It was a slow process but it was not a slog.  The conversation was a distraction as of course was the surrounding scenery.  I love ridge walking and this was a long one.  We walked and talked, walked and talked, walked and talked. Up. Up. Up.

entering the north side rock garden

The trail skirted the edge of the rock garden, and in some places the very very very edge.   

This photo captured by my friend, shows that even though I felt mighty being a way up here, this puts into perspective that truly I am so tiny in the grand scheme of things.   Getting to around this point, I was beginning to go down that path of negativity.  I dug a little deep and found within that by gosh I have a new attitude peculating, after being reassured we will make it there.  Yes, we will make it there.  Yes, we will still have a long summit visit.  Yes, we will still stop to take photos. That's the attitude, we can have it all!

a bouquet of rocks

We had just one more last big climb ahead.  

This is where the power trip got us, to the summit of Mount Allan where we completed the connection we started on July 27, 2017.  We shared the summit with a few others, everyone politely taking their turn capturing their proof they stood on top of Mount Allan.

WOW!  I made it!

Just down slope a tad was the perfect place to plant ourselves.  We could see pretty much it all from here.  The breeze was pleasant.  We watched the clouds dance across the sky and show their shadows on the mountains.  

Sometimes when I get high, I get a little dizzy!

It was all down hill from here on in except for the odd little incline here and there.  

The trail followed below the stretch of the rock garden.  

I believe he laid down trying to blend in and thought maybe we would not see him.  Or maybe he laid down to pretend he was dead.  As we passed by he did come down of his rocker and begin to come our way.  That lead me to believe he is probably used to getting food from folks.

dancing clouds

We headed off past the last of the rock garden and then down into the forest.  It was just a matter of getting the job down now.  Once again conversation was a distraction. I took a few last photos while the opportunities were there and then changed my focus in the forest.

We arrived back to the vehicle to find a congratulatory display.  We had a very very strong inkling who the thoughtful person was and shortly after arriving confirmed our inkling was correct.

It felt empowering to have succeeded today.  I found it tough with the heat and humidity and with not having worked up to these kinds of elevation gain numbers.  I believe that new attitude that perculated is here to stay.  That's what it is going to take to carry on having summiting success. 

Thank you for today!

making the connection