Our journey started with a four hour drive to get to the base of Mt Wilhelm and by the sounds of it that was really good time as the road was in pretty good shape (not so much on the way back after a torrential rain!) The drive up to the base was beautiful and it is amazing to me the places people can build a garden. I think you would need to be tethered to the hill to keep from rolling down as you worked, incredible! At on of the last villages we passed through before reaching the point where we would start our hike we stopped to pick up three EBC pastors who would be our guild up the mountain. After parking the truck we all pilled out, put our candies in our pocket (energy), strapped on our packs and started to hike. The point that we started our climb was 7000 feet and the camp where we would spend a few hours and try to catch a few winks was at 11.500 feet. That first portion was not too bad, the trail was pretty good and while it was a pretty steady incline we kept a pretty good pace and made it to our destination in just over 2 hrs. You could definitely feel a temperature drop as we climbed and as the sun set it dropped even more. After poking down some 2 minute noodles, granola bar and dried fruit I was happy to crawl into my sleeping bag, accompanied by my water bottle filled with hot water to keep my toes warm. Thank goodness for some experience camping in Canada! As the alarm was set for midnight to get up and start the push for the top, crawling into bed at 6:00 didn't seem so crazy. My stomach didn't feel too settled as we climbed into bed so I took a Gravol, hoping that it would help me to get some rest but when the alarm went at 12 I was happy to get out of bed and get going as the sleep had been patchy and light.
My stomach still wasn't too happy so all I could coax in was a bit of hot Milo before we all strapped on our head lamps and started the days climb. It was kind of strange to be climbing at night but it was good at helping you to focus just putting one foot in front of the other because that was only how far you could see, especially when we first set out, the fog was as thick as soup! The goal was to do the remainder of the ascent in the dark reaching the summit just in time to see the sun rise. Often this is the only time of the day that the peak is clear and you can enjoy your vantage point.
We plugged away for about 2 1/2 hrs and after stopping for a break after a particularly steep and rocky section I was encouraged to hear that if people turned back it was in that bit back there, but after getting going again I realized just how tired I was and the energy seemed to be draining fast. About the same time Jay said he was starting to feel a little dizzy, not a good mix on slopes where we were encouraged to balance in because it is a long way down. So it was at 13.300 feet that Jay and I decided we would turn back leaving the other guys to push on. One of the guides turned back with us to make sure that we made it back to camp safely. And so we started the climb down also in the dark, probably a good thing for those afraid of heights as it is amazing how high you can climb by just putting one foot in front of the other! As we slowly made our way back down the sun rose, bathing the world once again in light, making it possible to see a mountain range all the way down by the coast!
While we were about 1400 feet short of the summit it was still incredible to witness more of the Lord's creation from 'closer to the top of the world.'
Mel for the Marshes