Trip Report

It was my privilege to lead a group of four of my fellow Obsidians as we hiked, scrambled and climbed to the summit of Three Fingered Jack. This trip was originally scheduled by Karl Kriegh, and he organized it but was unable to lead because of a slower than hoped recovery from foot surgery. While I hope that Karl is back to hiking those long miles and climbing the hard routes again soon, it was a great pleasure to fill in for him on this outing. We were lucky to have fine weather for our climb on this rugged and scenic peak. We were the first ones to reach the technical portions of the upper ridge, and strung a hand line (used by others as they came behind us) from "The Crawl" to the base of the summit pinnacle. At that point, Chris Miller requested to lead the final pitch, as reaching the summit would complete his quest to climb the Ten Peaks. The rest of us followed his lead and enjoyed the pleasure of a fantastic view and feelings of success that comes from achieving a challenging goal. We did not rest long. There were several others waiting for their chance to stand on that tiny peak and we still had the long walk down and out to the cars waiting for us. I know of few things that are more satisfying than the hike out through fine forests and meadows full of wild flowers when shared with good friends after a fine climb! Thanks to Karl for letting me stand in for him, and thanks to everyone who shared the day with me. Congratulations to all for a successful climb and especially to Chris for his completion of the Ten Peaks. Climbers were Bob Burnett, Chris Miller, Jim Pierce, Gerry Roe and Doug Nelson (leader).