(Last Updated on August 24th 2022)
I remember early on the waterfall adventures turned into mountains, which steered me away from regular roads to logging roads to now eventually mountains that require gear and ropes to get up them. Something my mother was afraid of, but my adventures needed more, I needed more to fuel the fire inside of me, which lead me to summit the NW ridge of Triple Peak with Brodie. This was the first time Brodie and I met, we had talked quite a bit before about adventures and originally we were going to attempt Elkhorn but plans fell through and I opted for something easier as I've never hiked with Brodie let alone start off with a more technical route with someone I've never met.
So we both agreed to meet at Marion Main on Sunday August 7th in the evening and camp at the trailhead to get a early start the next day. I had left trip reports with several family members and I even wrote "Triple Peak" on my back window, as if Brodie was going to bury me in the ground and I would never be found again (lol.) Moving forward Brodie and I got along famously from the get go and it had been like we had been friends for years. This was a good start. This was the first night I slept in my tent alone, I kept thinking a bear was going to eat me as I had my fly off that night. The stars, ugh the stars they were amazing, thank god for ear plugs because I probably wouldn't had slept at all. I maybe got 4 hours of sleep due to excitment and anxiety I had building up from a bear and this great big adventure we were about to conquer.
We woke up around 6AM I want to say, we quickly packed our bags, ate some breaky and set off to climb to Elffin Lake. I've done this hike to the lake twice before, now making this three times. I've gone past the lake a bit but obviously due to the summits requring gear, we didn't go much further than the lake. We made impecable timing, by the time we set up our tents it was only 9:30AM. I believe it took us just over two hours to the lake, we were bombing and didn't stop for much breaks. It was hot out and I told Brodie "I'm going to jump in the lake" he thought I was crazy because there was still alot of ice leaving it somewhat frozen still. Me and cold water, we are friends. Didn't bother me, but I didn't stay in for very long, a quick in and out is all I needed. After that it was go time, now the fun really begins.
It's August 8th around 10:15AM and the sun is just beating down on us, Brodie carrying our gear, we are both fully equipped with helmets, ice axe and good boots with crampons. We decided to do the scamblers route, which was a freaking trek of a time. We thought we would get to the main summit but we chose the NW ridge after a few decisions I will get to later. Brodie was educating me as much as he could while leading me to get me familar with the terms, the knots & more. I preferred it, as I know this is something I want to eventually learn myself. Being that I had not much experience other than a couple times in the romper room and one outdoor experience out in Linley Valley it was important to discuss fears, my strengths and what we were both comfortable doing.
The communication was great, I really couldn't have asked for a better partner in doing this with for my first experience. I never felt unsafe and I knew Brodie was there to help me if I needed it, which I so appreciated. He was carrying the heavy pack, still don't know how you were doing that. Great job out there, I was having a hard enough time without a backpack.
For the most part we free-climbed a lot of this going up, Brodie did have to set out the rope a couple times for me as I didn't feel confident enough to do it without it, he was more than happy to set it up, we had a great system. There was a fun section where we had to put on our crampons and safely walk across the snow, the CONFIDENCE you have with those things, game changer! At times there would be parts of me that would be screaming inside my head thinking we aren't going that way, no way thats wild, no there's a back-way or something. Nope, Brodie would correct me and say "Yeah thats where we are going" and I would say "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH." in my head but a thrilling sensation would come over me like I CAN DO THIS! Lets go. WE got this.
I feel like we had been hiking for almost 4 hours at the point of our last scambly bit where I thought thank god, this is the final push. This was the NW ridge I was climbing and we recently found out we were out of water. This was a mistake on both of us, we should have packed a bladder, not really sure what we were thinking. We kept re-filling but obviously there is no river at the top- duh. This was a learning curve and the only whoops we did. Due to this, we decided not to continue to the main summit as we were both exhausted. It was hot and we were getting dehydrated, not a place to be in that state. I honestly didn't take a lot of photos at the top because I was so focused on what I was doing and trying to not fall to my death, afterall I do have a son who needs a mother. I was being extra cautious. That final push up the NW ridge was probably the hardest most rewarding thing I have ever done in my life. It was so vertical, there was nothing beside me except rocks and exposure to the elements. Such a crazy feeling being up there, I was so proud to have finally made it to where I wanted to go. We sat in the shade mustering any last bit of strength we had, to repel back down.
Brodie did a fabulous job at Tandem Repel for the both of us, how to get to know someone - go overnight mountainerring with them. You'll get close lol. This was the weirdest sensation, trusting this person you don't really know to lean back and say OK LET HER FLY! The first time we did this felt insane, I was calm but also super nervous as the feeling felt so unnatural to lean back like that off a cliff. After that it was super fun and I loved every minute of repelling down, so good. Thank you Brodie for getting us down safely. Putting our crampons back on going down on the snow was such a cool feeling, bright as hell but one hell of a time.
It was surreal looking at those peaks knowing we were just up there, I kept looking back being like WOW, that's literally amazing! A feeling you could get addicted too. We finally got to our first little river where we filled and filtered some water, all I could think about was that god damn water for an hour. You can't get more fresh than a huge ice block. We were fulfilled and ready to head back to the lake, Brodie kept saying how dialled we were and somehow I can't stop thinking about that word now and chuckle every time I do. Once we could see our tents at the lake, we saw other tents nearby, funny enough it was two friends I had never met (Brodie has met Kelsey) but this was exciting to finally meet not one but three friends off Instagram in real life. We sat up with Kelsey and Kirsten for the rest of the night.
Can I just tell you, while we got back at the lake and I went in for a second dip which btw felt amazing after a sweaty ass hike - it was just amazing being up there, looking at Triple Peak, knowing we had just done something not a lot of people get to do in their lifetime. The bugs didn't even bother me, I was so high on life, we ate some dinner and watched the sunset which was absolutely unreal. I smoked a joint, and we all had some drinks. It was really refreshing to sit around with people and actually connect. This is a rare thing that never happens anymore. We all slept without our flys on our tents and watched the stars come out, had a bunch of laughs and went to bed.
I had an unreal sleep after that adventure, and can we just take a moment to admire my tent view in the morning. I was the first one to wake up, I took some photos and I just sat there for a moment, took some deep breaths and really just thought about how proud I am of myself. Conquering new fears, meeting new friends and just living life man. Felt really good. I woke everyone up because I didn't want them to miss this unreal sunrise. Just beautiful. We had coffee, breakfast and started packing up.
Kirsten & Kelsey got a head start going down, Brodie and I followed not long after them and said goodbye to one hell of a peak. It was also a hot day, I jumped in the waterfall a few times and got Brodie to be my camera man as I had a few ideas for photos I've always wanted to capture. By the time we had gotten down to where the trailhead is, we sat for a bit and rested before packing up his truck and leaving. Just being wowed at all the beautiful things in life and everytime I meet someone who has the same drive as me, it left me so inspired when I got home. I actually feel like I was on a high for a few days if not a week after that. Coming down from that was depressing, I just can't wait to be up there again. I'm excited about the future, and to learn more. I hope this inspires you to try something new, life is short and I'm glad I will always have this to look back on.
Thank you Brodie for an unforgettable trip and for taking me with you. I will never forget this trip and it'll be something I will tell my grandkids one day. Get out there guys, life is meant for the living.
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