Sauk Mountain Creative Writing

I had navigated the truck up the Sauk Mountain road to roughly 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. With the summit 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”. My watch indicated 9:30 and 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. With the weather forecast and outlook not

Elaine stopped to pose for a photograph alongside a sign at the trailhead’s entrance that posted instructions for garbage that read; pack it in, pack it out, a caution sign for hikers entering an unmaintained trail, and an informative section on warning of bear sightings. As Jack snapped a few pictures of Elaine I could sense the eagerness and anticipation as they’re body language spoke of excitement of what lie ahead. It was shaping up to be a cold, wet journey and fortunately I came prepared for anything Mother Nature could dish out on this mid-September day. I could sense Holly feeling the cold as she tensed her hands under the cuffs of her newly acquired soft shell jacket. At 47 degrees and no sign of sunshine, there would be no guarantee that it would be 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, and I figured if they’re to bare the elements, I would too. Finally, at 10:56, the four of us entered the trail that ran southeast into a patch of trees fortifying us from the mountain’s west