Men on the Mountain

I was finally heading to the mountains yet unlike most trips, I had barely anything to do. Someone else reserved the campground, organized who was coming, bought and brought all the food, and had all the gear for cooking. All I had to do was pack a sleeping bag and tent! After finishing work Thursday evening and picking three people up, we were off toward Leavenworth for "Men on the Mountain", our church's annual retreat for men and their sons.

We arrived late at night to around 20 people sitting around a campfire, having snacks, drinks and cigars, playing games, cooking marshmallows, etc. The sky was crisp and clear, revealing

countless stars. You could hear the river running over the rocks 100ft away. It was all very inviting. Most of the guys had been there before. I joined in for a while and went to bed around 12:30. I tried sleeping in, but my body automatically woke up at 7am. I rolled over and slept longer:)

I was excited to go on a hike and the weather was nice-sunny but not hot. The group has been going to the same place near Icicle Creek for over a decade, so they have gotten to know all the surrounding trails very well. After a hearty breakfast and packing a lunch, 15 of us left to hike to Stuart Lake. Most of it was in the shade, but it was pretty. The bugs bothered us and my legs were covered in bites. It was all worth it when we broke out of the woods and we saw this:

Though the smoke from BC still hovered over the bowl, it was gorgeous and kept us hiking on eager for more. It took 2 hrs to get to Stuart Lake. It was fed by a glacier yet the water wasn't as cold as I expected. A few of us even swam!

Six of us chose to hike up a boulder field to Axis Peak, which gained 2000ft in less than a mile. It was doable, but definitely precarious.Though we had a few bumps and bruises, no one was hurt excessively. When we finally reached the top, this was our view:

We signed our names at the top, rested a bit,took pics and then camedown. I was glad that we didn't stray off our path and that everyone made it back in good time. I wasn't as out of shape as I thought I was. I think we all were motivated by the thought of fresh, fire-roasted chicken awaiting us for dinner! We were all pretty hungry and lounged around the fire pit for a few hours before heading to bed.

As much as I tried sleeping in, I still woke up at 7:30. The pancake, eggs and bacon breakfast was amazing! Some of us went down by the river but most were cleaning and packing up. Thankfully it didn't start raining until we all were on the road. It was a great time, but went by quickly. I need to get up to the mts more.