You can't control the weather. Scream, yell, or just wish with all your might. If it's not what you want your only option is to wait. But when you're traveling you don't always have the option of waiting. It's better to just suck it up and get out there.
Broken Top is what's left of an extinct volcano. The highpoint is just over 9,000 feet and it rewards with amazing views. Well, that's what I hear. As I hiked into Green Lakes Basin I was happy not to be battling the heat we'd experienced further south. However, as I turned the corner and got my first view of the peak it was clear I wouldn't be seeing much.
Clouds hung low over the summit and obscured the sky in every direction. I continued up with some hope that it would clear, but that wasn't the point of climbing. I don't want to be so clichéd as to say I climb because it's there or so I can see the world, but those ideas certainly resonate. I don't really have a good explanation why I'm drawn to summits. It must be something about the climb itself.
And it's a good thing I love the climb. Once I got on the ridge the wind buffeted me from what seemed like every direction. Visibility dropped to just a few feet making hiking more a game of route finding. On the upside, the complete lack of vegetation made the way easy to find. I think. I can only assume I went the right way because the ridge narrowed into a narrow causeway of loose rock.
I went up until there was no more up to go. At least for me. The actual summit of Broken Top is protected by supposed easy climbing, but big exposure. The kind of exposure that results in "certain death" if you make a mistake. Rather than push my luck in questionable conditions I called my summit and marveled at the gift of seeing the clouds from the inside. (They looked surprisingly like every other cloud I've seen from the inside.)
Oregon volcanoes seem to enjoy testing my willingness to turn back short of the summit. Twice on Mt. hood I've turned back, once only feet from the summit. I'm glad to see it wasn't just that one mountain that refused to invite me to the top.
On the way down I opted to cut across the western face. Parts were easy walking through scree, other parts were less easy with ankle-busting rocks moving under each step. I cut across the saddle between Broken Top and Point 7535. Below I saw a fox scampering across the snow. It was too fast and too far to get a photo, but as my first fox in the wild it'll hold a special place.
As I followed the trail back to the car the skies turned blue and the clouds moved away. It was frustrating to think of the views that I had missed. When I arrived at the junction I considered heading back up to the lake in the crater. It's supposed to be amazingly beautiful, but after all the effort getting to the summit and crossing the scree field I opted to save the lake for another day.
Besides, I'd already had enough climbing for one day. Too much more and I'd be so in love with the Three Sisters Wilderness I'd never want to leave.
