Was heading up the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek last Friday when a friend and I were struck by tha all too familiar Friday the 13th curse of bad luck. As we were getting close to the E.B. ledges, who should we meet upon the trail but none other than the dreaded Sierra Snail himself, Richard P.. As someone that has lurked on this board for a while and read his TR's and seen his pictures, I was in all honesty, honored to finally meet the man. His wealth of knowledge about the mountains is something I will always be in envey of. We talked for a while, with Richard telling us about his being up around Girl Scout Lake earlier in the day. I was glad to read durring this week that he was able to maintain his streak of Whitney ascents the very next day after we met him. But I regress. After meeting S.S., my friend Chuck and I continued up the N.F., finally getting to UBSL in time to enjoy the rest of the day. Our original plans for the weekend had been to do nothing more than an easy ascent of Mt. Carillon, and enjoy just being up in an area where I had not been for at least 25 years.Sometime before the trip actually got started, we changed our plans to trying an ascent up the east ridge of Mt. Russell. We had both climbed it more than 25 years ago and thought it wouldn't be much harder now than it was back then.Well, to make a long story short, by the time we got up to the Russell-Carillon pass, it was later than we expected and the weather was starting to be very cloudy. Rather than get part way up Russell and have to turn back, we opted for the faster ( ie. easier) quick run up Carillon. Having never been up it before, it was definetely worth it. The views and corresponding pictures we got were some of the best I have ever taken. The shots of the Whitney wall and Russell, will always be burned into my memory. The views of Tulainyo and the peaks beyond it were inspireing. We got rained on off and on while going down the slope back to UBSL, getting there in plenty of time to have dinner and enjoy an evening of bourbon and fantastic views. We headed down early the next morning and had one of Doug's world famous cheese burgers before heading home to SoCal. All in all, if every Friday 13th weekend were like this one, I would change my thoughts to how lucky they are, and not the oppisite. Spending 3 days in the Sierras with a friend I have hiked and climbed with for over 35 years, meeting Sierra Snail ( a person I have nothing but the utmost respect for ), and having a trip that I will never forget for its ability to get my outlook on life back to where it needed to be. Chuck, Richard, thanks. You helped a person probably without even knowing you were doing it. Hill
though I never really believed in that curse. I always have the same experience with my hiking friend Bruce or my cousin Surya - just hike, stop for a view or to see the beauty of a butter cup, no formal talk and when you think, they understand without any words coming out of your mouth. You are always in perfect agreement on how far you want to go, where you want to camp & who is filtering or cooking! its always wonderful to read about the beauty and serenity of Sierras and Sierra friendships!