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Early Saturday morning a light rain came down as we ascended into Leroy Basin. We had hiked 3000 ft of elevation into the basin. The fall colors were quite dramatic this time of year, and when we got settled we just sat in the middle of the Basin's expanse and stared at the larch trees, their bright yellow colors strewn throughout the green forest like ink blotches.

To the east was a mountain called Seven Finger Jack. Its seven fingers were seven tooth-shaped peaks lined up in a row, resembling the lower dental plate of some canine beast. Near Seven Finger Jack was the primary reason we came here, Mt. Maude. Where Jack was ragged and imposing, Maude was smooth and rounded off. They were two polar opposite mountains sitting side-by-side in some arranged marriage of nature. It was our intention on reaching the summit of Maude sometime in the early afternoon the next day.

We decided not to take a tent so we could save some weight. Instead we both brought bivy sacks, which are large, waterproof bags. We put our sleeping bags and our gear in them and zipped them up to keep the rain out. The weather cleared up enough that, by some miracle, we were able to gather some dry wood and managed to build a fire. The Sun was going down in the west. Right before it's final extinguishment it casts rays over the top of a nearby mountain range, which just happened to be lined with larch trees. The effect was mesmerizing. The mountains were outlined with what looked like yellow Christmas lights.

We huddled down near the fire, not talking much. The warmth of the fire and the flicker of its flame put us in an almost meditative state. Neither one of us was prepared to break the holy trance.

I decided to call it a night, shuffling to my bivy. Jeff couldn't quite manage to pull himself away from the fire yet. Later, I woke up at 2 am and found the campfire still blazing, feeding on one big log for hours after we'd abandoned it. I awoke again to the gentle tapping of rain on my bivy sack. The rhythmic falling of droplets sounded so soothing. I stayed awake with my eyes closed for a little while, taking it all in.

My watch alarm went off at 7 am, but the rain hadn't stopped. We were supposed to be starting up the mountain by now, but the comfort of my warm sleeping bag held me down. I just knew Jeff wouldn't even attempt to get up unless I went over there and kicked his sack, so I decided to go back to sleep.

I woke up again. Shit! It was 8:30 am. We had a full day of scrambling to do and

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