Lone Peak Oct. 17

Left Saturday morning at 5:30 to try and get up Lone Peak one more time before the snow starts to fly. I went with my neighbor and friend Matt Wilburn. He had been wanting to get up there ever since he moved here from Chicago. We took off and spent the first couple of hours by headlamp. It was a bit cool at first, but we quickly warmed up. Pretty uneventful until near the top of Jacobs ladder we're hiking along just as the sun is coming up and we are startled by a gunshot that was so close that we could feel it. We stopped on the trail and looked ahead about 50 feet and saw three hunters on the trail. They had just shot a deer. Little did we know that it was opening day of the deer hunt. From then on we were a bit more aware of the hunters and there was quite a few of them including two camped right in the middle of the trail. We worked our way up to the cirque and the snow was a bit more of an issue than we had thought. We were sinking in spots up to our ankles and knees. We did our best to work our way through it. I just had my trail runners on and I was wishing I would have at least worn me boots. We got up to the ridge and worked our way across and the snow was getting worse up along the ridge. There wasn't enough to really have a clear shot to the top, through the snow, but there was too much to rely on the usual rocks and outcroppings one needs to get up. It got a bit sketchy but I really wanted to make the summit. Matt stayed back when it started to get a bit bad. I kept going because I never felt I was in danger. My footing was good and I had good handholds. I got to within about 10-20 feet from the summit and decided to turn back. There was one spot where I had to cross about five feet of snow on a slop with no handholds. If I slipped it was off a 500 foot cliff. I'm quite sure I could have made it but decided that it wasn't worth the risk. I did ponder it for quite awhile thinking there had to be a safe way across that section but I couldn't come up with one. I had read the night before an account of someone who had slipped when crossing one of the ridges in that same area and didn't live to tell about it. I finally decided to turn back just 20 feet from the top. That's ok...Lone Peak isn't going anywhere. I will have plenty of opportunities to conquer it at another time. When I called Amy and told her what had happened she was very proud of me for turning around. Overall it was an awesome trip. We took our time and enjoyed the scenery which was spectacular. The leaves have started to fade a bit, but still had some color. The leaves against the snow capped mountains were a site to behold. I enjoyed going up with Matt. Matt has done alot of climbing in exotic places including a trip to Everest base camp. It was nice to be with someone that shares similar passions. I love this climb. It is quickly becoming my favorite. This was my fourth time up this year. Hope to have many more days just like Saturday. It is good for the soul...