My journal page for August 27th with the pool we set up for when the plane would pick us up. Sadly nobody won.

“It was raining with a low ceiling when we woke. Tony had joined us during the night and now Mark and Sharon. We all read and Tony had… a beer for breakfast. All we had was peppermints. No one left the tent until the afternoon when it stopped raining. We all set up a pool for when the plane comes. We heard one go over today… Saw muskrats.“

Early on in the adventure we all sat around and compared the frivolous luxury items we all brought. Some said alcohol, some said coffee, etc. When I suggest my paperback book, the Alaskans looked at me like I was crazy. As it turned out books were indispensable escapes in the final tent-bound days of the trip. I had the Hollow Hills to take me to Arthurian England. If I recall correctly Dave delved into the dystopia of The Stand by Stephen King.

At one point late into our foodless, forced fast, Craig started to laugh a bit maniacally and Dave and I exchanged worried looks. Craig told us he had just read a 5 page description of a deli spread. That sealed it: I wasn’t reading Craig’s book after I finished mine.

“We just had a soup and are all outside. I’m wearing wet pants w/no shoes. A beaver swims in the ‘lake.’ The water is brackish. We are making beans with franks (for 2). We an now see some blue sky. The colors have changed dramatically – it is truly fall now. The bush that smells like juniper is red. The birches are gold. One nice aspect of this wilderness is there are no jets overhead.”

“A cold morn with watery sun. The ring around the sun is ominous…[I got up] and picked my usual pan of berries – spilled them and picked more. I had to range far and wide. We packed up and took off up the hill. We did our best to refurbish the site to its pristine state. We watered and raked.”

Years later talking with Tony I know he didn’t feel like we did enough to tread lightly. Tony told me he felt it would have been better to camp on a sand bar that would bear the weight of our visit better. At the time I thought we took great pains to peel up the ground cover where our tents were set up and “re-sod” the patches back in when we left. Tony may well have had a point. As Neil Young says in Natural Beauty “What a lucky man/To see the Earth before it touched his hand”

“Dave and I plodded (his ankle hurt). By the time we reached the lake rain had set in. We ate our last lunch and Tony gave us Cadbury chunks. The rain made us more cold so we pushed on. It was a long haul over slippery rocks to the pass. From the pass down it was a wet mess of alders…”

A word here about the generosity of the Alaskans sharing their food with Dave, Craig and I. They had done this the entire trip and, as it turned out, this ended up being a big sacrifice. Once back at the spot where we had landed on “Circle Lake” and where we were to be picked up, Tony, Brett, Sharon and Mark took off up the Alatna River valley to our first day’s camp to retrieve the food they had cached there in a tree.

The bears had raided the Alaskan’s food cache and gotten it all.

“We saw a moose standing in a meadow off the Alatna in the rain. We wondered what it would be like to be a moose [in the rain] and not care. There were, at least, few mosquitoes. We were soaked. My boots were squishing… there were some peppermints in the bottom of the food bag. Dave and I had two beers.”

My injured pointer finger taped to my index finger – stained by all the blueberry picking I did to atone for my woeful cheese procurement. Love this close up of the intricate ground cover that was everywhere.

“Today was an even more perfect day. A day to relax. I picked an extra large pail of blueberries and took a cup of [espresso] with me. We had blueberry pancakes with honey and cranberry sauce, eggs with bacon and [cocoa]… Tony and Mark went bouldering and sightseeing up the canyon while [Sharon, Craig, Dave Brett] & I stayed to ‘hot tub.'” I did a complete wash and, boy, do I feel good… Now I am sitting in the warm sun in shorts and t shirt – no shoes, sipping Constant Comment w/honey and milk and listening to the roar of the creek. The warmth has brought out the mosquitoes and butterflies and I am reminded of the start of this glorious trip.”

At this point I suspect I might have run out of film for my camera. There are no more shots on film. I was carrying a Pentax LX SLR camera with a 50mm f1.4 lens.

“Tony and Mark [returned. They] ran up to the pass at the head of the canyon at the head of this valley. 10 miles. They found a diving rock and swam. They hopped in the hot tub after the chili and beans they shared with us.”

Fortunately all the injuries some of us suffered were minor. I strained a finger, Dave had an ankle that was bothering him, Steve contracted a cold, and Christian hurt his knee. We carried a rifle – not sure where it came from – in case of a grizzly charging. We all agreed it would be a tragedy to have to use it. The philosophical agreement added to the harmony of the group. All of us took turns lugging it around. We squeezed off a few rounds for target practice.

What we called Hot Springs Creek is called Aiyagomahala Creek by some.

“…we had a big fire and ‘falafal burgers’ and another Alpine Aire disaster: “Shrimp Pasta With Veggies’. Then Sharon made coffee drinks: coffee with cocoa and Yukon Jack. mmm. Perfect. We popped popcorn and Dave did his Monty Python Fat Man routine – Craig was in hysterics. We had a late night and Sharon went into the tub at about 2am. …we [all] went to bed after some beautiful aurora.”

The West Sister (or Maiden depending on who you ask) from the East Sister.

“We got up when the sun hit our tent about 10 am or so. We had a quick 2 oatmeals [sic] with blueberries (I’m the official blueberry picker). We went off up the valley about 11am. The vistas as we traveled on became better and better. On the south side Uli Bia: a tower of granite, Max Headroom: a gargoyle and [Wickmann’s] Tower [to the west] ever growing. We were in cruise speed. Soon we were in a talus field. Dave spotted 6 mountain goats as they warily avoided us. This was the quietest hiking we had done.

…The Sisters loomed above. We stopped at the top of some slabs and had our rations of cheese and crackers w/M&Ms and Tang. In the notch we found we could 3rd class (or 4th) either Sister, so Dave and I moved out on the [west] face for a 5th class climb. The rock and protection was excellent.”

“The sun set on our face so I climbed in miller’s mitts. We did a leapfrog so I did the 2nd pitch. The summit was awe inspiring – possibly one of the grandest views I have ever seen. Wickman’s [sic] now resembled some unclimbable himalayan pk with it’s huge icecycle [sic]”

“Dave has become ‘Bwana’ and Craig ‘The Lumberjack’ and of course me ‘Dr. Science.’ Craig is also ‘Senior Sinchilla.'”

“Dave and I rappelled down and free climbed. I picked up my boots [I had on Firé climbing shoes] and other gear and we 3rd-classed the [east] Sister. I should have gotten out of my rock shoes because of the snow… The summit on the [east] Sister was small and the drop down on the NW side was awesome… Craig was under controlled terror…

I think Craig’s terror was only partly an act. He had been clinging to the rock with both hands like the mountain was going to buck him off like some hapless rodeo contestant, so when I took the following picture, I told him he had to let go. He very slowly let go:

Here’s Craig’s account: “The unforgettable trek to Twin Sisters peaks and the climb to the top!  That was incredible. It was on that climb to the top of Twin Sisters that I realized how great Ritz crackers are with a slice of cheese!  THAT is great stuff! Also — my butt was hanging over the side of that peak!” Love the Ritz Revelation!

“I changed into my boots and gaiters and the descent was easier. Going down the talus around 10pm was physically demanding… Down near the creek we got punchy. I ‘swam’ to the blueberries during a rest. We took to boulder hopping instead of bush wacking the alders. The light started to go and the rock got icy. “

From Craig’s memory: “Hiking back to camp from Twin Sisters, we did a lot of rock hopping in the stream, but I recall we stopped for a break at one time and we each pulled out our books and read on a rock in the middle of that stream (or at least I did).  What a great place to read a book, in the middle of the stream, in that valley, with Wickman’s Tower reigning at the top of the valley. Very cool! “

“When we came to the sulfur smell… [we found] the Alaskans had joined us! It was a noisy, happy reunion. They had gotten blown off the grand traverse. Hacked around the Arrigetch upper and base camps and headed over our pass to get here. …and they had extra food!“

The Alaskans had seen a black bear near base camp over by Arrigetch Creek.

“We immediately hit the hot tub. At midnight we watched the aurora from the pool. The [Third quarter] moon rose and it was a beautiful eve. Darker and more stars than ever. Dinner was a big affair with lots to catch up on. The hot springs made us all relaxed and slo-mo. When I got cool, I left the smoky fire and went to bed. I was beckoned out by Dave for a big aurora display dancing overhead. Went to bed after 2am ”

Arrigetch

This was a rest day. Craig enjoys a book in the warm sun. Books turn out to be important gear later on.

“Today was designated ‘lazy day’ from the word go.” – Journal August 23, 1986

It was a great camp for a little rest and relaxation – compete with hot tub. We had zip thermometer gauges clipped to our packs that we used to engineer perfect soaking temperatures to our hot tub by minute adjustments to the inflow of hot water and cold glacial stream water with pebbles in the diversions. The rest of the creek was very cold but after absorbing calories from the hot spring, we could roll over into the cold water and not even feel it for a while. So refreshing!

“The weather was perfect: cool – warm in the sun, clear. Jim, Steve and the Christians had to head out. We took photos and they bailed. We assessed our food situation and it didn’t look too good, so we went on rations.”

Looking back on upper Arrigetch Creek as we leave the watershed to hop over to the next canyon. L to R: The Tusk, Xanadu, Ariel and Caliban.

“We tried to get up early but because it was cold we waited for the sun. Blueberries and oatmeal. Dave and I washed our hair. Yeah! We were on the trail about 2pm with our ‘agony bags.'” Journal – August 22, 1986

“Soon we were traversing out of the canyon. We cut through a wash and saw evidence of bear (diggings, dropping w/blueberries). I lagged back feeling the weight. Soon I found sweet blueberries to perk me up. We slowly made our way to a pond (stagnent) in the pass. The day was beautiful and sunny, but with a cold wind...The mosquitoes were blessedly gone. “

We cached our ice axes and crampons in the pass between the canyons to ease the weight of our packs. We dropped into the canyon and the red alders made the going “torturous.” One of the Christians hurt their knee.

“Once down in the canyon bottom we almost immediately smelled sulfur. The vegetation was noticeably different. Juniper was on the hills and ferns were in the canyon. The canyon is fantastically lush with large pines. We traveled maybe 1/2 mile through a jungle of alder and found the hot springs. The only evidence of humans was a small dam. There was a meadow right above [where] we made camp.”

“Sitting by the fire eating, we were not prepared for after-dinner entertainment. If we had seen the aurora [borealis] the night before it was nothing compared with tonight’s display.

At first they were fainter than the previous night, then over the west ridge a powerful show[ing] neon magenta on the bottom with pink, blue and green. Then overhead there was a burst of color frantically whipping and buffeting. Then the moon rose and the north was green. We all shouted and jumped to our feet. It was awesome and almost frightening.”

A Bit About The Kaleidoscope Effect of The Aurora Borealis

At our camp at the hot springs we were at 67.41º north latitude. The prime auroral oval centers roughly between 65° and 70° North. This location is the only place on the planet where intense geomagnetic storms place the vibrant light displays directly overhead.

Craig on the aurora: “Nothing beats the aurora borealis experience!!!  That is right at the top of my all time great experiences on my list!”

After the cosmic show we were still faced with the nightly chore of hanging our food. This was before lightweight bear canisters were available. Although the nights were getting quite noticeably longer, it was still probably well after midnight:

“When we hung the food back up, the line broke… after Jim, Dave and I had a hell of a time stringing it. I had fallen [earlier] and sprained my right pointer finger which I had re-injured repeatedly trying to hoist the food. When it broke I was pissed. But Steve was up in that tree in a flash (an approach I had not thought of…) Steve seemed to be over his cold for the most part.”

Even though we didn’t succeed in climbing Caliban, these two good friends remain undaunted. In between the “kitty” ears on Caliban.

“We awoke to rain falling off and on. It had rained hard during the night and my sleeping bag was wet at the toes… The sun dappled the hills. The Alaskans decided to go exploring and head for a grand loop over to hot springs canyon. Tony was to join Dave and I for a shot at Caliban. It was raining when we left. When we reached the ridge thankfully it turned to snow. We said goodby to Brett, Mark and Sharon and headed up a gully.” Journal – August 21, 1986

Steve was starting to feel the tickle of a cold. I’m not sure what Jim and Steve did on this day but we did spot them down below. I think Craig took the day off as well.

“The view from the notch was breathtaking. We decided to turn back because it was icy and really blowing. We traversed out to the ridge overlooking our canyon on the way down. We snacked on our last food then took off cause it was cold. We said goodbyes to Tony and descended in light snow.”

We had rock gear, we had some ice gear and I think we even had a deadman for snow, but there was nothing you could really put in that would hold in these conditions below. So, discretion being the better part of valor, we bailed. I’ve never regretted not doing a mountain. It’s all part of the game. As the great mountaineer Norman Clyde said: “The mountains will be here tomorrow. Reckon to be able to say the same about yourself”

“The trip down was truly amazing. A sort of autumn melancholia had descended on the landscape. Light snow on the mosses, lichens & berries gave a feel for the impending winter.”

“Back at [base] camp things were cold. Now it was snowing up the cañon and we were clear. We hastily made dinner and I jumped in the sack. Soon after Dave beckoned me to come out hastily. Aurora! Curtain[s] eerily shimmering near the horizon. The speed at which they would shift amazed me.”

As a backyard astronomer since I was a boy, I had always wanted to see aurora. While I was thrilled to finally witness the phenomena, I had no idea what was in store for us a few days later…

I’ve heard this called the Aquarius Valley, but by any name the upper Arrigetch Creek is awe inspiring. That is Xanadu in the background.

“We woke this morning to a wet snow falling in our valley. We dozed until noon… [Our shelter] is just a tarp set up with ice axes and bivi sacks underneath. Craig dreamed that his 2 mo. old son turned into a Kentucky Col. honey package. Dave dreamed Tony was playing electric guitar with a drill team majorette and a drill time down by a lake in the Arrigetch on a sand bar. I dreamed a group of people [at Goat Butte, Malibu Creek State Park] were firing flares into the butte. Firecrackers too. Soon police uniformed in Patagonia Synchilla and riot helmets came down to stop them…” Journal August 20, 1986

We all remarked that the Arrigetch seemed to promote extremely long, vivid dreams. It was wet and cold outside and we lingered in our warm, dry bags.

“As we where making our precious breakfast oatmeal Tony, Sharon, Mark and Bret came by and we sat around laughing and sipping tea. The weather cleared and I had collected blueberries to go with the oatmeal. mmm. Without getting out of our bags we had lunch an hour later.”

As I recall we saw no other parties on this trip after the first day until a very tall, shaggy guide we dubbed “Gentle Ben” and his party of two hikers from Massachusetts walked by.

“Soon the 4 berets [the Alaskans] went back to base camp for more food… and hiked up to the base of the glacier at under [Xanadu] where the Christians are camped. Jim and Steve met us as we packed up our camp. Steve helped carry my 70-80 lb pack.

Dave, Craig and I hike up to set up our crude lean-to with the others under Xanadu and Caliban.

Now Jim and Steve have gone off to hike up a ridge. – Dave has gone to look for wood (scarce). No sound but the wind gently flapping the tent and bringing me the distant roar of the cascades… I hear voices – here come the Christians!”

Jim and Steve split off from the group for a few days and took this shot of The Tusk above unnamed lakes. Dave, Craig and I climbed The Tusk (Also called “The Elephant’s Tooth) on this day. Photo by Steve Sharpe.

“A great day! For once we weren’t “The Crack of Noon Club.” We must have been out of bed by 8 or 9. Blueberries and oatmeal. We packed up for a planned 3 night bivouac up the right fork of Arrigetch Creek (Dave, Craig, Tony, Brett, Mark, Sharon and the Christians). Mark dropped his pack about 1/2 mile out of camp, stripped and swam.” Journal – August 19, 1986

Jim and Steve had parted with us the previous day to explore (and go fishing?) up the watershed that went toward around The Tusk. This was the nature of our modular group. I thought of Jim and Steve as The Fishermen, Tony, Sharon, Mark and Bret as The Alaskans or alternately The Explorers and Dave, Craig and I as The Climbers. …and of course the Christians were The Christians.

“We continued up a way, dropped our packs and headed up The Tusk. Moss, lichen, talus and mud made the climbing treacherous. The Christians bailed out. Craig, Dave and I made the ridge and ate lunch. We rapped off the south side and descended to the 4th class route. I picked up my hat. [I had left my hat at our lunch spot from the previous day]. We roped up the 4th class route and I led. It was a beautiful sunny day and a fine summit. We destroyed a cairn. I regretted not bringing my camera. We descended looking for a way to circle the mountain but it was no go. We saw a ring around the sun.“

An omen for the coming change in the weather, as it turned out.

Here is Craig’s recollection of this day: “We climbed the Tusk which had one sheer (a bit scary) face with little footing, but we scaled and conquered… followed by a rappel back to the base of the peak.”

“So we had to return to where we rapped. There Dave led a 5th class pitch. Craig expressed his doubts, but I really wanted to test our ability at speed. Dave led well. It was 11:30 and starting to get dark. I lost my hat again to the wind. We rapped off the far side and descended singing (Beef-a-Roni!). Dave had seen Tony, Mark, Sharon and Brett head up the canyon. Craig took a 20′ skid in the mud. We picked up our packs and moved up about a mile when we set up our bivi. We made an indian fire and chicken-a-la-king. I started the night out of the shelter but after an hour or so it started to rain. It was getting lighter at 3am when we went to bed.“