This blog entry is about a girl called Geetha, whom I never met, and who doesn't know about me. Unfortunately, Geetha is no longer with us and this story is about my struggles to reach Leatherman peak, a climb I dedicated to her memory, getting lost on the way, and climbing another mountain called White Cap peak thinking that it was Leatherman.
Geetha and I went to the same undergraduate school, she four years after me. Beyond this, we have no connection. Recently, she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. I don't know what that means, but she needed to undergo a bone marrow transplant to live. The medical bills were really hefty, and I was hoping to help her family and friends towards footing some of them. Although, I had never done this before, I decided to raise funds through a weekend climb to Leatherman peak (12,228 feet, the second tallest mountain in the state of Idaho, USA). The fund raising was going on well. The target was to raise $25,000 in a month's time. We were starting to gather momentum, and together with efforts from Geetha's other friends, we raised upwards of $5,200 in about a week.
However, things did not work out the way we all hoped and prayed for. Geetha is no more! She developed an infection which spread to her heart. As a result, she could not eat much orally or tolerate injections. Worst of all, some respiratory side effects led to her chemotherapy to be momentarily suspended till the infection got cleared. Unfortunately, she passed away before that could happen. So I decided to climb the peak in her remembrance.
Personally, I needed the break too. This past week was a bit dramatic. I was planning to climb Leatherman peak last Sunday. In hindsight, it would have been impossible because I miscalculated the time required to reach the base of the mountain. Anyways, I hurt my toe last Saturday and had to postpone the climb to this weekend. Geetha passed away Monday night. Then on Wednesday, two friends, Nate and Ellen (who was supposed to climb Leatherman with me) were involved in a terrible car accident. Thankfully, they walked out of it relatively unharmed, but Ellen suffered trauma to her left shoulder which was already hurt from a previous incident. Ironically, I was supposed to be in the same car! Due to a series of follies, I made Matt drive another car to pick me up. Matt and I actually drove past Nate and Ellen's upturned car and I even joked about it. We felt sick about it afterwards, but at that time, we had no idea that it was their car. Besides, we were on a different highway to stop even it was somebody else. Then on Thursday, I was biking to Pranav's and Nayan's home. It was very windy that evening and I noticed two people running around a big fallen tree. I soon realized there was a 4-5 year old child underneath the tree. I joined the other two in pulling her out. Thankfully, she was not pinned under anything, but she was bruised at multiple places and was having problems in breathing. She kept saying her back hurt a lot, which was a real worry. We got her parents and called 911. Before the responders arrived, we were pretty sure that she had not broken a rib and that she had sense all throughout her back (meaning her back bone was relatively unhurt). But, she was definitely in shock, and her playmates kept crying. This was really agonizing to see a sweet kid like her go through this.
So, on Saturday, I was more than eager to get away. Leatherman Peak is in the Lost River range. To get there, we can drive around another range called the Pioneer range or drive through an unpaved road though it. Having time on our hands we chose the later, stopping at the beautiful city of Ketchum for some coffee and ice-cream. Once, we passed the Pioneer range, the Lost River range lay right in front of us. I had never been on this road before, and I must say that this road probably presents the best view of the range. It is quite a lofty one containing 7 out of the 9 tallest mountains in the state of Idaho. Besides, there is something very majestic and beautiful about its peaks. They are just solid jagged rocks jutting 4000 - 6000 feet out of the ground. For the route that we had decided to climb Leatherman peak, we had to drive around the range and into the beautiful Pahsimeroi river valley. It was incredibly scenic and bone-rattling at the same time.
After 2 hours of this bitter-sweetness, we were at our campsite by about 8 PM. It was beautiful. The west fork of the Pahsimeroi river ran right next to our campsite and the tent site was just like a soft bed of pine foliage. Pranav and Gavin started setting up the tents and foraging for some dry wood, while Michael went about cooking dinner. I got down to starting a fire. It was a long time since I had started a fire with just a few match sticks, and it was a great feeling when the fire finally got going. We had a wonderful dinner; I must say one of the best I have had since a long time. We had forgotten to carry plates and Gavin improvised by using part of a trunk of a tree as his plate. It looked incredibly fancy with small servings of rice, garbanzo bean-curry, and fresh salmon on it. We did consider opening an outdoor themed restaurant where food will be served this way.
We were planning to leave camp by 6 AM. But we were so enamoured by the luxurious camping, that we stayed up till 11 PM by the fire and even had a fire for breakfast! We left camp by around 8 AM :-). The trail was beautiful to begin with. It was flanked by mountains on both sides and crisscrossed many small streams which were tributaries of the Pahsimeroi river. At this time of the year, the entire forest is littered with thousands of wild flowers. Just when I started absorbing the beauty of this trail, it disappeared altogether. To add to the adventure, Pranav and I got separated from the Gavin and Michael. We tried looking around for them and/or the trail for about half an hour, but in vain. So, a decision was made to first break the tree line and then try to find out the trail with the advantage of clear sight. Thankfully, when we came out of the trees, we were not very far from a faint trail which lead up to Leatherman Pass, which I thought was on the way to Leatherman peak. This was a big mistake.
There are two mountains on either side of Leatherman pass. The one to our left was Leatherman, the one to our right was White Cap peak(11,899 feet). Unfortunately, both of us were confused on which one is what. One person came down from White Cap peak and we asked him, which one is Leatherman, and he pointed towards White Cap. We asked another man climbing up, and he also pointed us in the wrong direction. He said he lived in the valley and climbed the mountains almost every weekend. He was a strong climber, based on what we saw, and when he started from the base camp (two hours after us). So we started going up White Cap mountain. It was not a scary climb. But it was difficult. There was a lot of screeing. Every three steps one climbed up, one would slide down one step. There was one more problem. As you climb up White Cap, there are at least 3 places, which look like the summit from below. You get to the point and realize that the summit is 500 feet higher. It does tend to have a demoralizing effect.
We finally summitted White cap at around 1:00 PM. It was evident to us that we were not on Leatherman. Also we could see the silhouettes of Michael and Gavin on the summit of Leatherman peak. It was a good relief for us, because we were not sure of what happened to them till then. We set down a picture of Geetha at the top of the mountain and ate our sandwich. However, we did not have much time at the top. A thunderstorm was rolling in fast. We could see some lightning on the Pioneer range. I wanted to be back to at least Leatherman pass before the rain hit us. There was no time for me to set up my DSLR for some shots. So we decided to head back at the earliest.
We got back to the pass in the nick of time. The winds had picked up considerably. We couldn't hear each other from 10 feet away. We just kept walking and were soon back in the trees again. I generally don't like climbing down a mountain. One is tired and walks for hours to get to a car! Thankfully this time, we did get to see some wildlife on the way. A big group of mule deer ran away from us, from about 100 feet away. Unfortunately, they were too fleeting for me to take a picture. We met up with Michael and Gavin at almost the trailhead. It was about 4 PM. We had a small snack and headed back home.
Leatherman Peak: http://www.summitpost.org/leatherman-peak/152079
White Cap Peak: http://www.summitpost.org/white-cap-peak/154011
More pictures: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/nra736usx5iwqhf/AAA73CTJv2fmapJ3jW8vWHHqa
Geetha and I went to the same undergraduate school, she four years after me. Beyond this, we have no connection. Recently, she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. I don't know what that means, but she needed to undergo a bone marrow transplant to live. The medical bills were really hefty, and I was hoping to help her family and friends towards footing some of them. Although, I had never done this before, I decided to raise funds through a weekend climb to Leatherman peak (12,228 feet, the second tallest mountain in the state of Idaho, USA). The fund raising was going on well. The target was to raise $25,000 in a month's time. We were starting to gather momentum, and together with efforts from Geetha's other friends, we raised upwards of $5,200 in about a week.
However, things did not work out the way we all hoped and prayed for. Geetha is no more! She developed an infection which spread to her heart. As a result, she could not eat much orally or tolerate injections. Worst of all, some respiratory side effects led to her chemotherapy to be momentarily suspended till the infection got cleared. Unfortunately, she passed away before that could happen. So I decided to climb the peak in her remembrance.
Personally, I needed the break too. This past week was a bit dramatic. I was planning to climb Leatherman peak last Sunday. In hindsight, it would have been impossible because I miscalculated the time required to reach the base of the mountain. Anyways, I hurt my toe last Saturday and had to postpone the climb to this weekend. Geetha passed away Monday night. Then on Wednesday, two friends, Nate and Ellen (who was supposed to climb Leatherman with me) were involved in a terrible car accident. Thankfully, they walked out of it relatively unharmed, but Ellen suffered trauma to her left shoulder which was already hurt from a previous incident. Ironically, I was supposed to be in the same car! Due to a series of follies, I made Matt drive another car to pick me up. Matt and I actually drove past Nate and Ellen's upturned car and I even joked about it. We felt sick about it afterwards, but at that time, we had no idea that it was their car. Besides, we were on a different highway to stop even it was somebody else. Then on Thursday, I was biking to Pranav's and Nayan's home. It was very windy that evening and I noticed two people running around a big fallen tree. I soon realized there was a 4-5 year old child underneath the tree. I joined the other two in pulling her out. Thankfully, she was not pinned under anything, but she was bruised at multiple places and was having problems in breathing. She kept saying her back hurt a lot, which was a real worry. We got her parents and called 911. Before the responders arrived, we were pretty sure that she had not broken a rib and that she had sense all throughout her back (meaning her back bone was relatively unhurt). But, she was definitely in shock, and her playmates kept crying. This was really agonizing to see a sweet kid like her go through this.
So, on Saturday, I was more than eager to get away. Leatherman Peak is in the Lost River range. To get there, we can drive around another range called the Pioneer range or drive through an unpaved road though it. Having time on our hands we chose the later, stopping at the beautiful city of Ketchum for some coffee and ice-cream. Once, we passed the Pioneer range, the Lost River range lay right in front of us. I had never been on this road before, and I must say that this road probably presents the best view of the range. It is quite a lofty one containing 7 out of the 9 tallest mountains in the state of Idaho. Besides, there is something very majestic and beautiful about its peaks. They are just solid jagged rocks jutting 4000 - 6000 feet out of the ground. For the route that we had decided to climb Leatherman peak, we had to drive around the range and into the beautiful Pahsimeroi river valley. It was incredibly scenic and bone-rattling at the same time.
The Pioneer range as seen from Doublesprings road.
Mount Corruption from N-117.
The Lost river range as seen from the Northwest side from N-118. (L to R): unknown, Leatherman peak, White Cap Peak, Mt. Idaho and Sacagawea peak).
After 2 hours of this bitter-sweetness, we were at our campsite by about 8 PM. It was beautiful. The west fork of the Pahsimeroi river ran right next to our campsite and the tent site was just like a soft bed of pine foliage. Pranav and Gavin started setting up the tents and foraging for some dry wood, while Michael went about cooking dinner. I got down to starting a fire. It was a long time since I had started a fire with just a few match sticks, and it was a great feeling when the fire finally got going. We had a wonderful dinner; I must say one of the best I have had since a long time. We had forgotten to carry plates and Gavin improvised by using part of a trunk of a tree as his plate. It looked incredibly fancy with small servings of rice, garbanzo bean-curry, and fresh salmon on it. We did consider opening an outdoor themed restaurant where food will be served this way.
Our campsite
We were planning to leave camp by 6 AM. But we were so enamoured by the luxurious camping, that we stayed up till 11 PM by the fire and even had a fire for breakfast! We left camp by around 8 AM :-). The trail was beautiful to begin with. It was flanked by mountains on both sides and crisscrossed many small streams which were tributaries of the Pahsimeroi river. At this time of the year, the entire forest is littered with thousands of wild flowers. Just when I started absorbing the beauty of this trail, it disappeared altogether. To add to the adventure, Pranav and I got separated from the Gavin and Michael. We tried looking around for them and/or the trail for about half an hour, but in vain. So, a decision was made to first break the tree line and then try to find out the trail with the advantage of clear sight. Thankfully, when we came out of the trees, we were not very far from a faint trail which lead up to Leatherman Pass, which I thought was on the way to Leatherman peak. This was a big mistake.
The trail that we lost shortly.
The beautiful hike.
Leatherman Pass: Leatherman peak to the left, White cap peak to the right.
There are two mountains on either side of Leatherman pass. The one to our left was Leatherman, the one to our right was White Cap peak(11,899 feet). Unfortunately, both of us were confused on which one is what. One person came down from White Cap peak and we asked him, which one is Leatherman, and he pointed towards White Cap. We asked another man climbing up, and he also pointed us in the wrong direction. He said he lived in the valley and climbed the mountains almost every weekend. He was a strong climber, based on what we saw, and when he started from the base camp (two hours after us). So we started going up White Cap mountain. It was not a scary climb. But it was difficult. There was a lot of screeing. Every three steps one climbed up, one would slide down one step. There was one more problem. As you climb up White Cap, there are at least 3 places, which look like the summit from below. You get to the point and realize that the summit is 500 feet higher. It does tend to have a demoralizing effect.
Do you think this is the summit? No, it was the first time we were fooled.
We finally summitted White cap at around 1:00 PM. It was evident to us that we were not on Leatherman. Also we could see the silhouettes of Michael and Gavin on the summit of Leatherman peak. It was a good relief for us, because we were not sure of what happened to them till then. We set down a picture of Geetha at the top of the mountain and ate our sandwich. However, we did not have much time at the top. A thunderstorm was rolling in fast. We could see some lightning on the Pioneer range. I wanted to be back to at least Leatherman pass before the rain hit us. There was no time for me to set up my DSLR for some shots. So we decided to head back at the earliest.
This climb was dedicated to Geetha.
I did carry the DSLR to the top. In vain!
Pranav and me at the top of White cap mountain.
We got back to the pass in the nick of time. The winds had picked up considerably. We couldn't hear each other from 10 feet away. We just kept walking and were soon back in the trees again. I generally don't like climbing down a mountain. One is tired and walks for hours to get to a car! Thankfully this time, we did get to see some wildlife on the way. A big group of mule deer ran away from us, from about 100 feet away. Unfortunately, they were too fleeting for me to take a picture. We met up with Michael and Gavin at almost the trailhead. It was about 4 PM. We had a small snack and headed back home.
Pranav calls this mechanical walking, i.e. don't think, don't talk, just walk.
White Cap Peak: http://www.summitpost.org/white-cap-peak/154011
More pictures: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/nra736usx5iwqhf/AAA73CTJv2fmapJ3jW8vWHHqa
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