The Descent
The only thing I could really remember about the descent was that we first needed to find our way down to a saddle between the peak we were on and the one to our southeast. Fortunately from the summit I spotted to small cairns that seemed to mark the beginning of the route down. We checked it out and found our way down some ledges and eventually encountered a rappel anchor. The route below wasn't incredibly steep but it was very loose, so we decided to make use of the anchor and rappel down as far as we could.
Just
as we were finishing the rappel (which left us still some distance above the
saddle) another party appeared above us trying to find their way down. We
were a bit surprised to find out there had been someone behind us all day as we
had not seen or heard them previously. Just as we discussed how glad we
were that we had not dislodged any large rocks on the climb up, they let loose a
barrage of rocks in our direction. Glad we'd been in front of them all day
if that's how they climb! Fortunately they did yell "Rock!" and I
disappeared behind a rock and under my helmet! Angela did likewise and
luckily the rocks bounded by without incident.
Eventually
we made it to the saddle and paused to change out of our climbing shoes.
The other party caught up with us and we chatted briefly about the route down.
They had brought a guidebook along and let me borrow it for a quick look.
When I had reread the description of the climb and the descent I laughed out
loud. The book's brevity and lack of detail made it almost useless.
Boy was I glad we hadn't decided against climbing the route for lack of a
guidebook. If we had I would have really kicked myself rereading it later!
Though
the book was of little use, and the other party had no better idea of where to
go than we did, the path became quite clear on it's own. Terrain that
looked like it would be impossible to safely negotiate from above wasn't that
extreme once we were down in it. We found remnants of a trail heading down
and around the peak to our left with the occasional small cairn marking the way.
After passing over a ridge or two we found ourselves in a broad scree gully that
seemed to lead all the way back to Lake O'Hara 2,000 feet below.
While
we had a clear view of where we were headed and were confident that we were on
the right track, the going was steep, loose, and slow. We ended up on our
butts numerous times as our feet skidded out from under us.
Eventually we came across what looked like a slightly more maintained trail
crossing the gully we were descending. Tired of sliding our way downward,
we decided to pick up this trail figuring it would have to return us to Lake
O'Hara sooner or later. The trail contoured west into another broad gully
and then proceeded down the shortest most dizzying switchbacks we've ever been
on! The ground was now more stable underfoot and we picked up speed,
zigzagging downhill! Finally, to the relief of our toes, we spilled out
onto the main flat trail around Lake O'Hara. It was now 5:20. While
we had missed the bus we really wanted to catch, at least we wouldn't be walking
back to the car! We hiked the easy kilometer back to camp, gathered our
belongings, and sat down along the road to wait for the bus.
As we sat waiting for the bus, eating the last of our gorp, we noticed the older couple with whom we had shared a table the night before. Apparently they were just returning to camp after a day of hiking. He noticed us perched atop our packs and inquisitively gestured: thumbs up or thumbs down? We smiled proudly and raised our thumbs in the air. A smile grew across his face too; he understood well, without explanation, the profound feelings of adventure and achievement a day like ours could bring.
