…to the mountain.
The mountain on the afternoon of day one. Pentax MX, Kodak Image Pro 100, May 2025.
The mountain. It is a star, and it lies not above, not below, but between the two.
For many years this mountain has been on my mind. It has been calling me to it. Its precipitous slopes, dense forests and scrub, its marvelous skyline. The summit is ringed by cliffs on most sides. It is a long way up from the river. I pored over the maps; the contour lines were too close together and too chaotic to tell me anything useful.
Everything about the mountain appeared to be telling me not to approach it.
Except of course, that it stands out and it beckons. I knew I had to go.
The path to the mountain is through the forest… Pentax MX, Kodak Image Pro 100, May 2025.
I went ‘old school’, with map and compass. I had a four day window. It was early May and the weather forecast was fair. I left my trip intentions with a couple of people I trust, and the plb at home. I drove to the end of Clear Hill Road, parked Maggie the Magna, left my phone inside and locked the doors. I put the key in a safe place.
I was going solo this time.
Raindrops on tarn. Pentax MX, Kodak Image Pro 100, May 2025.
I unrolled my packraft and loaded its tubes with the dry bags. I stashed my pack inside, closed the airtight zip and inflated it. I wore my dry suit, pfd and attached a line from me to the raft. I did not want it blowing away from me on the open water. It was a big, dead lake.
It was flooded over fifty years ago, when they built the dam across the Gordon River. The dead stags of massive eucalypts that died over half a century ago still hang eerily over the water. I paddled among the ghosts of those trees. There was no wind and all was quiet.
Dead stags in big dead lake. Pentax MX, Kodak Image Pro 100, May 2025.
It was the first night of my trip and I was camped on the lake’s shore. Now that I could see the mountain, I finally asked it whether I may ascend it. The mountain at first gave me a sense of a bad premonition. After the initial wave of this passed, the mountain granted its permission.
I sensed that the outcome of an attempt to the top via the south ridge would likely be a safe return, but that a bit of trouble could be expected. There was a magenta sunset over the lake.
At that point, I only knew two things: the way to the top was gonna be steep and it was gonna be scrubby.
Hidden in the oily depths. Pentax MX, Kodak Image Pro 100, May 2025.
-A.S. Brushy Creek, 5/7/2025.