Our first hike in the Sierras a couple of weeks ago had to be aborted. The very name of our destination, Saucer Lake, just over the ridge, inspired my 11-year old grandson, my good friend, Margaret, and me with eagerness. The hike started well enough, over granite boulders, through manzanita bushes, across noisy rivulets of snowmelt.
It had been a late summer in the mountains, though. As recently as two weeks before our adventure, Echo lake still boasted ice. As we now ascended, bits of snowfields lurked over parts of the trail. At first we worked around them, picking up the switchback a few yards further on. The incline sharpened, the snowfields became broader and increasingly treacherous -- as in steep and slippery, with very hard boulders or worse, cliffs, at their bases.
It had been a late summer in the mountains, though. As recently as two weeks before our adventure, Echo lake still boasted ice. As we now ascended, bits of snowfields lurked over parts of the trail. At first we worked around them, picking up the switchback a few yards further on. The incline sharpened, the snowfields became broader and increasingly treacherous -- as in steep and slippery, with very hard boulders or worse, cliffs, at their bases.
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| A small snowfield -- fun and safe to slide down |
I’d begun praying quite earnestly about safety probably half an hour before, when continuing the climb began to feel not right. It was a humble prayer, just asking God to place each step so that She would be praised by this activity. Neither did it feel right for Grandma (me) to be the one to say we needed to turn back. So each time I was tempted, I prayed the more earnestly.
Finally, about 2/3 of the way up, we reached the largest snowfield yet. We could not see where to pick up the trail on either the right or the left of it.
Finally, about 2/3 of the way up, we reached the largest snowfield yet. We could not see where to pick up the trail on either the right or the left of it.
