Sometimes the most challenging thing about a trip in the mountains is the not-so-simple act of getting the hell out of town.
I just returned from a four-day backpack trip in the Alpine Lakes wilderness: A great hike, but an adventure that almost didn’t happen. The statistics I could quote here on the elevation gain of the trip and the miles hiked all pale in comparison to the massive effort of what came before I left.
Photographic work for paying clients had to be post-processed on the computer and CD’s burned and mailed off. Ditto for some volunteer, charity work I had done. All aspects of my business and home life had to be buttoned up so that I could be away for four days, and of course I also had to pack overnight hiking gear and make decisions about what photo gear to take.
It felt like my work and home life were exerting gravitational pulls way beyond normal...and even after I had all the items crossed-off my pre-hike to-do list and my car was packed and my hiking partner and I pointed my vehicle east heading toward the Cascades, that is when my car battery decided to die.
I seriously considered bailing on the trip. It seemed like the gods were trying to tell me life would be easier if I just stayed home.
But, as you can see from the images I’m posting today, my friend and I broke free and we went for a long, long hike in the mountains, away from computers and cell phone reception and a disabled automobile. The four days we spent in the mountains were calming and restorative, more than worth the effort it had taken to get out of town.
