Capturing the Art of Nature
Lincoln and Ralph
For each step up there seems to be two on the way down when hiking a steep trail like Mount Lincoln’s
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
Summits on the Air
2016
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Fortunate is a good word for describing our adventure up Mt. Lincoln today. We had planned to do the hike earlier in the month but Ralph hid in England and my other radio club partner moved to the interior! The weather was looking better each day as the week progressed and come Saturday morning it was expected to be sunny and warm. With the planning behind us, Ralph arrived at my place a bit before 8am and we were on the road in short order. Two quick stops for caffeine and fuel and we were making good time on the highway heading for the town of Hope.
Today we were driving in style, in my wife’s SUV as we didn’t need to leave the pavement to start at the trailhead. So the drive went smoothly and we were pulling off the road in Yale a bit before 10am. A few prep tasks and we locked up the car and started along the highway for the beginning of Lynky Trail. The day wasn’t too hot yet so it was a good time to get on to the slope and start up this very steep trail. It was dry and that made for an easy time picking our steps as we travelled the dozens of switchbacks up this trail, one book counts them at 47 but I think there are actually more.
Soon we reached the first very steep section where a long rope has been placed. It works well and is quite needed as the rock is slippery even when dry. Once over this section the trail meanders through trees and mosses for a while and then a second rope section is reached where the challenge is repeated. Not too much further a third rope segment is encountered. This one is quite different however. Here the ropes help you hang on to the rock face as you make your way across it. Going up isn’t too bad but I find this section to be quite challenging on the way down.
Once across the rock the rest of the trail passes quickly as one reaches the broad summit area marked by a cairn hiding a small geocache. Now that we had arrived on the summit Ralph and I stopped and ate our lunch it being 12:20 with almost two and a half hours of strenuous hiking behind us. My beef sandwich never tasted better, and the fruit salad delicious. Once rested we scouted for a tree to support Ralph’s vertical antenna. I found a spot that would also offer some shade and there Ralph tossed a line over a tree. He missed the intended one but snagged the one next to it which was actually a bit higher and so we decided to use that tree for the support. I helped haul up the line and soon we had the antenna deployed and Ralph put out his first call. He very quickly got a station in Alaska. Over the next hour he managed to complete calls with 4 more stations.
Meanwhile I assembled my 2m yagi and latched it to a tree behind Ralph. I then plugged the 2m amplifier I borrowed from Ralph into his lithium battery and I started calling. I kept that up for over a half hour but got no response. I tried a few frequencies and the only response I got was the automated one from the Hope repeater. Well, I guess I wasn’t making a contact, fortunately Ralph did and so the summit was activated again this year. I then grabbed my camera and gathered a few photos from the summit. The Fraser Canyon is very narrow here but affords a few lovely sights even if they are limited in direction.
Once done with pictures and Ralph’s attempts, we packed up the gear and said our goodbyes to the summit. The trail down though less tiring, is actually harder as one has to pick their steps more carefully than on the way up. This was particularly true as we neared the end section of the trail where a steep switchback had loose sides and here Ralph’s pole slipped sending him cartwheeling through the air. I was a bit ahead of him and heard a cry, when I turned around I saw Ralph midair doing a summersault before he splatted on the slope below where he should not have been. He was fortunately not seriously hurt, only a scraped knee and elbow. It was also fortunate that he came to a stop after only one flip as the slope kept going and I joked that he was trying to make a quick descent to the river below us for a swim in the hot sun. After resting where he landed and me looking over the situation, he picked himself up and continued on his way as if nothing ever happened. Now last time on this trail Ralph twisted his ankle just a few meters from the trail-end, so this time he did better, even if it could have been far worse.
The last section of the trail went quickly and we were back on the side of the highway in the growing heat of the afternoon. Getting across the road and over to the car couldn’t come fast enough. I really wanted to get out of these boots and backpack. Pulling it off and enjoying a long drink certainly helped improve one’s spirits. Once we had cleaned up a bit we set off for the Blue Moose Café in Hope and the cool air the A.C. system provides inside. The balance of the drive home went smoothly and as we made it past Chilliwack I heard a chap calling on the Sumas Repeater. It was a callsign I remembered as being another SOTA hiker. I responded and confirmed that he was indeed a fellow SOTA section manager. We had a nice chat as it was the first time we had spoken. Hopefully we can get together in the next few weeks.