the trail split, we set off and upwards, scrambling the mountain’s exposed
and craggy face.
Boulders mounded the steep ascent, ever-present obstacles from
the Lion’s Head peak. Leaping, grasping fingers wrapped and clung to the
bare granite. Feet were placed carefully, balanced and then tipped to the
next and the next and the next overexposed crevasses plummeting to the
earth. Wind whipped our jackets as we gained altitude. I could see my
loose hairs flicking in and out of my focused view and my white knuckles
every time I gripped the rough, cold rock. I heaved myself to the highest
bolder and beheld what I had just surmounted. Below me, a few of my
companions were still picking through the steep, bouldered landscape.
The other side was a rocky outcrop leading to a sheer cliff, forming what
looked like a lions’ head from my angle… aptly named. My legs tightened
as I rose from my squatting position; the wind was so powerful that I had
to lean and bend my knees to keep from toppling over. As our ragtag lot
gathered at the peak, someone snapped a photo for posterity. We were
smiling like goofs, so proud of our ambitious summit, arms spread-eagle
and eyes wide. I can still feel the excitement in my chest when I look at it
now. I can still hear us shouting, “Contact! Contact! Who are we?”
It was nearly impossible to uproot ourselves from that astonishing
view, but Tyler told us he had one more secret destination off the trail
before making camp. I gave one last look around what was my very own
Ktaadn and followed the others down to the main trail. When we reached
our packs at the side of the trail, we immediately took a switchback down
into the bowels of the thickening rhododendron bushes. About two
miles in, Tyler unstrapped his pack and ducked off the main trail. Being
adventurous folk, we all eagerly followed. I remember branches whipping
my legs and dripping leaves showering my forehead. I kept a steady pace,
watching the forest floor intently. The rocks were moss-covered and
slippery, and I kept seeing my death on the sharp drops below. My sight
was so keen, in fact, that when the group stopped I didn’t notice what
we had stopped at. My eyes rose to meet a series of high rock falls with
water torrenting down into a small pool. Tyler stood there half perched
on his walking stick with a cocky smile peering through his grizzly beard.
“What’dya think? Ha ha, maybe some of you’ll get the stink off ya!”
Lex looked me straight in the eye with the energy of a thousand
splendid suns and yelled, “Hell yeah, I’m goin’ in! How’s my bio-soap
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