Personal Narrative-Sauk Mountain Trail

I had navigated the truck up the Sauk Mountain road to about the five and half mile mark when the first true glimpse of Sauk’s west face came into view. Dead ahead, the four of us stared through the windshield fixated on the numerous switchbacks carved into the green vegetated hillside that emerged through the damp vaporous atmosphere. Though the summit was hidden by a sea of clouds, the spectacle caught Holly by surprise generating a wake-up-call. “We’re climbing that?” she inquired with a tentative tone. Her Uncle Jack answered with a matter of fact “ya”. I was not surprised that there were no cars at the Mountain’s trailhead located at 4,300 feet above sea level. In fact, I even felt a little disappointed. The weather forecast and outlook

Elaine stopped to pose for a photograph alongside a sign at the trailhead’s entrance that posted instructions for garbage; pack it in, pack it out, a caution sign for hikers about entering an unmaintained trail, and finally something about a warning of bear sightings. As Jack snapped a few pictures I could sense the eagerness and anticipation as they’re body language spoke of excitement of what was yet to come. It was shaping up to be a cold, wet journey and fortunately I was prepared for most anything Mother Nature could dish out on this mid-September day. I could see Holly feeling the cold as she tensed her hands under the cuffs of her newly acquired soft shell jacket. It was 47 degrees and there was no sign of sunshine and no guarantee that it would be any warmer 1,200 feet higher on the summit. I had my pair of Windstopper gloves and offered them to Holly. Jack and Elaine were also gloveless, so I figured if they are to bare the elements, then I would too. Finally, at 10:56 we entered the trail that ran southeast into a patch of trees fortifying us from the mountain’s west

Completely engulfed in a cloud system, the view of the three hikers in front of me offered an intriguing perspective of the high elevation visibility. Holly, standing ten feet in front of me, was in sharp focus against the rocky backdrop and misty air. Standing twelve feet beyond her, the appearance of Jack was slightly faded. Even more engulfed in the grayish air and a mere few feet in front of Jack was Elaine. If anyone had been ahead of Elaine, they would have been unrecognizable and just a silhouette against the surreal backdrop. Of course, there was no one ahead of us; however, we did hear voices from