August 17, 1986

“‘The crack of noon club’ had made it’s debut. We packed up quickly because of the dreaded haul… …the pace at the beginning of the day was set by maniac Tony. I thought I would drop. The mosquitos were awful. I had serious doubts. The tussocks thinned out but the pace was intense. I felt as if I was the only one struggling.” Journal – August 17, 1986

This was a new experience for me. I had never felt like the slowest member of a hiking group. This humbling experience gave me a new appreciation for the patience of some of my former girlfriends.

Tony led at a furious pace. Here he’s showing his strength with Christian Franklin. That’s The Tusk (The Elephant’s Tooth) in the background. Dave, Craig and I would climb it a few days later. Photo by Dave Jones.

As Craig recounts: “The next day we bush-whacked our way (NO TRAILS) and nothing but a topo map and coordinates to steer us – and carrying a rifle for bear protection. Long, tough hike! Eric named his backpack “Big Bertha”. That sucker was huge and often required the support of his other hand or both hands at the bottom.”

The red alder on the first day’s hike made going miserable. Photo by Dave Jones.

“Dave got the lead and slowed us up after our snack on a ledge that gave us our first view of ‘The Tusk.’ After lunch it started to rain and when Dave got us in a bog we took to calling him ‘Chief Muddy Paw.'” Journal – August 17, 1986

Rest stop looking northeast back down Arrigetch Creek to the Alatna River Valley. L to R Brett, Christian N., Steve, Christian F., the author (and Big Bertha), Jim. Photo by Dave Jones.

Day two trek is in green. Day one in red. Click to enlarge.

I got soaked on this afternoon. We found an obvious campsite at the junction of a canyon that led up to the base of The Twin Sisters and Arrigetch Creek that had obviously been previously used.