Climbing the Mountain

I am not a mountain climber in leagues with those who climb Everest, or the mountains in the Himalayas but on Day 4 of Aniakchak I climbed a mountain. This mountain was not great in elevation but it was a 2000 foot climb.

We packed a lunch and water and headed up a riverine. Thirty minutes later we found a beautiful stream coming down the mountain. The water was so clear, it was amazing. The stream had small falls and drops as it flowed down the mountain. The rock formation were very impressive. The camera guy and the director spent about an hour shooting film of the falls. While I waited for them to finish filming, I was examining all the beautiful flowers that were growing near by. All the flowers were new species to me so I was busy taking pictures so I could go home and identify them all.

After the falls we continued to climb. We got to an area where we could see the rapids we would float down the next day. From that altitude they didn't look so bad. The start of the river goes between two mountains. The area is called the gates. No matter where you look at them you have to be impressed by their size. From this height, you could find rocks with fossils in them. Fossils of plants, shells and etc... It was fun trying to see who could find the best fossil.

Onward we climbed. The climb got steeper and I had to take more breaks to catch my breath. The terrain became more harzardous as we were walking on rolling stones and rocks. If we caused a rock of any size to fall down the trail we would yell and warn the people below as my boss said rock slides were common. We had finally made it to the top to find that the view was blocked by clouds. We could see below us and see the river as it curved back and forth. But the view beyond the mountain was obstructed.

The clouds blocking our view were not storm clouds. Just your ordinary white puffy clouds. There was a large patch of grass to sit on and rest at the top. Everyone but the director and the camera guy sat down. The two of them headed back down the mountain disappointed in all the work carrying equipment up only to see nothing. The rest of us pulled out our lunches and watched. All of the sudden the clouds disappeared and the sun came out and before lay the most unbelievable sight.

There were mountains and this land that was green and flat that ran on both sides of the river. My first impression was it was like the Land of the Lost and at any moment a dinosaur would come out of the valley. The area was as pristine as habitats could get and it went on as far as the eye could see. It was nothing short of breath taking and I could not get enough of it. The clouds would float in and we would wait for another chance to see the valley.

Just before we decided we had better start back down the mountain we heard a rock slide.  We could not see it but you could hear the rocks rolling down the hill and picking up speed.  It lasted for about 10 minutes.  Once it got quiet we headed back down the trail but it was hard to leave such a terrific spot.