I write this piece with cuts and bruises, a injured rib, two swollen knees and a body that can hardly move three days post hike and I am unscathed compared to my hiking partner Jeff, who ‘s impact of injuries prevailed mine on our expedition to summit Kings Peak.
Its name alone “Kings Peak” commands courtesy to accurately describe this intimating glaciated mountain. Its portrayal is majestic, sovereign, ruler of territory, colossal in greatness and appropriately intimidating!
If one has the physical stamina to climb Kings Peak physically, Emotionally I embraced it with fear and tribulation, as its immense peaks and ridges with steep verticality, no wonder it is held as number 9 highest mountain soaring at 6775 feet on Vancouver Island and a hundred meters below peeks Queens Ridge.
This was my first pinnacle as it seemed as though I was eating an elephant and how does one go about eating an elephant you may ask? One bite at a time! That’s exactly how I approached this boundless vast monstrous climb!
Our hike began under the power lines, and quickly transitioned into thick first growth lush forest, the weather was not in our favour as rain rolled in. We ambled on switchbacks and came upon what I called the ‘angry waterfall,’ because its water’s vibrantly flowed belligerently down the rocks with much passion and fury. Next we advanced to an endless tree root spiralling staircase section of the trail that advanced us to craggy boulders until we reached a graceful waterfall. We approached a narrow goat trail crowed with overgrown brush. Dewdrops from fresh rain clear-fell and showered us until we were drenched. We continued along the river until we reached our destination The Meadow. (Day 1 complete) stretching along a dreamy grassy surroundings with a sparse semi-dried brook, just perfect for our tents. We set up camp fought sodden weather and once established, we buried ourselves in our own sleeping bags to regenerate warmth back into our shivering bodies. We reluctantly crept out two hours later into the glittering starred night sky to cook our first meal of chicken and rice and ended the night in the throes of flash backing into the 80’s with serious matches of Trouble and Connect Four games to complete a tiring and wonderful day.
Morning came early 7AM after a bone chilly night of gusting winds, rain and subfreezing temps, Jeff bravely redressed in his wet clothes amongst the frigid air. We gulped down coffee and headed summit bound within the day’s grasp. I felt a little deflated when right away we came to an endless upright scramble of nasty shale rocks, damp muddy roots, and dead tree bark that went straight up for miles. The only saving feature of this section was an interesting bat cave and it deposited fumes of guano as we passed. Eventually we summited to a beautiful crest crow’s nest yet… disappointedly, it was only a false summit… No the actual Kings Peak was still over two hours away and here we were, having our snack in false piece of heaven, however, this placed seemed to absorb breathtaking glacier scenery of the adjacent stunning Elk River Mountains who held hands to form a perfect circle around the ridge. Ecstatic emotions engulfed me, generating a true sense of accomplishment to reach this high elevation. Floods of amazement captivated us with views of spectacular peaks, ridges and valleys and I sensed one could easily have played in the clouds and have touched the sky at this vantage point.
The climb from this point was vertical as we hiked the Queen’s Face ridge which was sheer, grueling and so precipitous. We had to dig deep mentally and physically as our legs and lungs grew in weariness moving air bound into clouds, the summit appeared endlessly far away and soon enough, Jeff turned to me and said, “We will be there in 7 mins.” A feat I thought impossible, but sure enough within moments we finished the summit of Kings Peak!!
I imagined being very emotional but I was not. Essentially, my demeanour was calm as I just stood on the ledge of the summit deeply inhaling in absolutely every fine detail and facet that my eyes could absorb. I Eagle-eyed mountainous miracles of vast depths, heights, peaks, glaciers, valleys, lakes….everything! And In this exact moment, I realised how trivial I am in comparison. Feelings of awe-inspiring wonder roared over me in waves and I bathed in the glory of it all so thankful for my hiking partner Jeff, and so happy that my body let me do it. Once shock had settled, we haphazardly, flirted with the overhangs as cheeky monkeys would do, to capture a defying gravity selfie of cliff edging and feet dangling to stomach dropping proportions, But the phrase says, “when in Rome”, or when on Kings Peak…. My body is feeling the consequences of tackling and conquering such a crowned royal peak nevertheless my heart will remember it forever.
Linda's adventures blog 