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Lone peak hot shots2/19/2023 We took a short break at one of the better waterfalls, taking some pictures and soaking ourselves in the cool water. We got off route into some scrub oak and both Snack and I said rather irritated, “Jackson! I thought you knew were the trail was!” We were only half joking and had to rib Jackson, as he repeatedly assured us time and again before the hike that he knew exactly where we were going all the way to the top of Lone Peak, so whenever we got off route, Snack and I would both yell “Jackson!! I thought you knew where the trail was.”Įven though I did not have a lot of experience, I knew that this trail was a gem and with all of the green plants and trees, waterfalls and wildlife, it was a much needed reprieve from the dry hot valley below. We had one minor bushwack and both Snack and I started something that would repeat itself multiple times during our little adventure. It was a hot day in the valley, well over 95 degrees, but it was early enough in the morning and was not all bad scampering up to the lower reservoir. Jackson’s mom dropped us off at the Bells Canyon trailhead on the morning of July 3rd and we told her to pick us up in three days at the same place and we were off. Ĝanned Chili and ravioli.(It’s all about going light.) Not sure what the temperature rating on this bad boy was, but I wasn’t getting cold. The heaviest orange Coleman sleeping bag I have ever seen. Ğxternal frame pack that was broken and had been buried in my parents garage for years For entertainment purposes, here is a list of some the gear and supplies that I had: Looking back on this attempt now, I laugh every time I think of the gear that we used and the lack of knowledge that we had at the time. We recruited another friend of ours, Scott (Snack) because he seemed really interested in some adventure and really liked the idea of making a summit climb, something he had never done before either. We planned for three days and two nights and we figured we should not have any problems reaching the top of this peak that had been on my mind for almost a year now. Before the days of the internet, it was tough to get good information about the summit climb, but we had been there before, knew the general “trail” to the top and besides, Jackson had a map with some instructions, so we both figured we were “money” and the summit would be in the bag. We were now a year older, but not necessarily a year wiser in terms of mountaineering knowledge. We spent a cold night at the reservoir and had to make a fire to warm up the next morning and after a quick breakfast, we hiked back down. He agreed and we decided our quest for Lone would have to wait one more year. Jackson still wanted to give it a try, but I soon convinced him that we would barely make it back in time for his appointment by getting an early start and heading back. We were definitely not mountaineering experts by any means, but the hike to the reservoir taught me one thing and that was there was NO WAY we could make it to the summit and back by 12:30 the next day. I was in great shape, so it was not extremely difficult, but I was definitely not used to this uphill hiking business. The hike up to the reservoir was a new and somewhat entertaining experience for me. Our plan was to hike through Bells Canyon up to Upper Bells Reservoir and camp over night, make a summit attempt in the morning and race back down so that Jackson could make a dentist appointment at 12:30 the next afternoon. Looking back we definitely were not prepared and had absolutely NO CLUE what we were doing. We decided to make our first attempt in September of 1990. I was a little nervous, because while I had done quite a bit of hiking, I had never really climbed to the summit of a mountain before and really I had no clue what to expect, so whenever Jax would look up at Lone and say “He we need to go climb Lone Peak!” I would respond with the when, where, why and how? He said “Don’t worry, I have a map and it has some directions on it.” That sounded pretty good to me, but I was not all that convinced. My good friend Jackson had been pestering me to join him on a climb of Lone Peak for the better part of a year, knowing that I loved adventure and the two of us had spent hours together exploring caves, 4X4 trails and other remote wilderness locations, he knew I was a sucker for some adventure. Pictures to follow soonThis whole business of hiking, climbing and mountaineering started for me back in September of 1990.
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