Of all days this summer, This day has the possibility of making or breaking this whole summer trip, will my kids fall in love with backpacking and we forever share our favorite hobby or will the day prove too challenging and they hate backpacking and me forever. 

The cirque surrounding Lonesome Lake is considered one of the most majestic basins in America and is held in a special category even by those who have seen it all. During our climb, every lake, meadow, and stream we pass, I can’t stop wondering how in the world anything could possibly be more beautiful than this, and yet every climber that we pass on our way up spoke uniquely of the unmatched beauty in the valley they just returned from, the Cirque of Towers. How could anything be more beautiful than these other views, and yet people swear it.

It should be roughly seven miles round trip, the first half entirely uphill with several scrambles and many unmarked sections. The second half, downhill in reverse, still challenging but quicker.

We got out early and were making great time, I remember being impressed with how much distance we were crushing. Then we passed our first climber, I asked him if he was returning from the towers and said no he was going to the towers. Shit. We missed the turn off over a half mile back. Starting the toughest hiking day of our young lives with an extra mile is demoralizing. I knew everything would have to go perfectly if we wanted to get there. We already consider finding a new destination but I think everyone saw the disappointment in my face and we agree to push on with the plan. 

From this turn that we originally missed, the trail turns sharply and begins switchbacks up the side of the mountain. There will be several ascents today that are quite steep and at this elevation, we require frequent stops to catch our breathe, the finale will be the extra challenging push up Jackass Pass (I can’t get Everest to say the name.) If we make it here then it’s merely a quick descent down into the cirque and over to the lake. 

Due to our early mistake to start the day, we now had to begin keeping an eye on the time from the start. The kids will frequently remind us how hard the climb is here with an occasional groan or a whimper, but, when a break comes, everyone is in good spirits and swears they are going to reach the top. 

After a while the topography mellowed out and we were cruising thru a valley before our only quick decent of the morning. The granite slabs surrounding North Lake don’t leave much evidence of where others have traveled before us and so we get lost again as we try to make our way around the lake. We can see where we need to be. Luckily we notice our mistake quickly and although little time was wasted, we now needed to climb back up to the trail, more energy wasted. We pull up along the correct shore of the lake and find the most beautiful boulder to have lunch, that would be, if we brought lunch. Our plan was for a quick in and out with little weight, we made the decision to leave lunch back at camp. We do each have a bag full of absolute garbage food, mostly candy, jerky, and some trail mix. I decide here not to touch my bag and save it in case our luck continues. We aren’t even half way and we are short on food and time is ticking. A young couple pulled up and decides to have lunch on our rock, he makes a joke about having way too much food for his overnight and jokingly asks if we need any cliff bars. I jokingly say yes we didn’t bring lunch, Amy explains I’m not joking at all. We appreciate the extra calories, especially since someone else carries them up here for us, he says he’s grateful to get rid of the weight.

Our age and short legs balance out with other hikers heavy bags and we find we aren’t going slow, we continued to leapfrog the same people all day, the problem is, most of them are heading one direction with their packs. Once we arrive, we will be half way. I think everyone on trail is cheering for the kids to make it. 

After our break we have our second big ascent, we make it about half a mile before Everest decides this has been too hard and he would prefer to head back to the tents. He says he can’t decide if his legs or head hurt more. At this elevation, it’s clear he needs water and we take a serious rest. Although Fitz voiced his opposition, we agreed early not to split up and this was still impressive and we should be proud of how far we got. We would stay together and return. 

While resting and replenishing, I was taking pictures and hiding my disappointment when Everest jumped up with a big smile and exclaimed he’s going to the top. You don’t have to tell Fitz twice and they were off, Maple forgot whatever her thoughts were and just went with the prevailing attitude. This burst of energy would prove enough to take us up our next short climb to Arrowhead lake. From here, the path to Jackass Pass follows a steep boulder scramble up around the lake. I’m excited to finally catch a glimpse of the huge towers that give the cirque its name. 

Fitz running around during breaks and climbing extra rocks because they call to him, has finally caught up with him. In the middle of this steep boulder field, he now quit. It’s too hard but I am actually proud of how far we went and with the Sun on its way down, let’s turn face. Turns out Fitz only likes the idea of quitting not actually quitting and refused to follow me down. And so he pushed, and he pushed, the kids having to climb up each rock where adults might simply step up. Maple loves her independence and hates asking for help but she relented and relied on us for a boost here or there. 

Within a few more short sour patch kid and water breaks we emerged on top of Jackass Pass. I was ecstatic, the views from here are wild. From here I could see the peaks of the entire grouping, we could see some gorgeous small unnamed cirque lakes below, and a meandering Sound Of Music-esque trail leading over the final mountain blocking our view of the valley. The kids were as happy as anyone to reach the top, they celebrated with a big sense of accomplishment and danced around and took pictures on the house size boulders.

I saw it in Amy’s eyes first, she’s staring at me, I knew why she was looking at me. We passed our time to turn around. I also had not mentioned it until now but there is a reason this range got its name, the winds have been increasing throughout the day as we get higher and higher in elevation. Now, above timber line and tucked in a pass between two giant mountains, the winds are fierce and even small tasks can be challenging. Amy was right, if we turn around now, we can be proud of all the we accomplished, more importantly to me, the kids will remember it as a great day in our life and we will not risk returning hungry in the dark. The valley is but a mere three quarters of a mile away but that’s an entire mile and a half added on to an already ridiculously challenging day. Amy was right. I figured I would feel great disappointment at not completing the final descent to Lonesome lake, and I could replay that first mile in my head over and over, but I felt nothing of the sort. I was ready to cry with joy at the way they didn’t quit. All backpackers get to a moment of inner struggle, the mental strength needed to get here far outweighed the physical. That’s the real test and they passed. My boys were supportive of Maple and whenever asked about their accomplishment on trail always deferred to how amazing their four year old sister was. 

I made it to within a mile of my goal, but that was never the dream. The dream was to complete a challenge as a family, one that we all wanted to accomplish. The dream was for everyone to have fun so we can all fall in love with the outdoors together. The dream was to create bonds that make our family closer. And in this regard we have realized all of our dreams. I would not exchange the previous two days for anything, this is peak family fun to me and I wish I could bottle this feeling forever. 

As happy as we were, we were also getting cold and hungry, and although the hike up was more challenging, getting down the mountain safely is always the single most important part. We bid a farewell to my cirque, more of a see you again soon, and took off back down the trail. This time flying down the mountain with ease, over and around obstacles that gave us pause hours earlier. In the open sections, we tried to rush, as the winds were now quite chilly, in the relative protection of the trees from sun and wind we would slow down and take our breaks. We eventually got back down to the forests and meadows, past our lakes and old photo ops. Home! Back safe, and elated.

Not much time to sit around in my glory as the stove is still broken and we need to gather wood for the fire. Tonight we teach the kids why we never buy Mountain House dehydrated meals, they insisted at the store and we went with the, “it’s the only way they’ll ever learn” approach. It worked and now Amy is forced to gulp down every last bite, otherwise risk attracting a bear and having to carry it out. We open the entire bear bag, set aside breakfast, and challenge the kids to eat as much as possible. Lunch from today, extra candy, pop tarts, hot chocolate, all of it. We could eat every calorie and still lose weight today, but more importantly, I don’t have to carry it out tomorrow. The sun sets as Amy cools off in the lake while the kids play on the rocks. 

Surprisingly my fondest memory of this day will be of us all sitting on the rocks overlooking our camp long past sun down just talking about the world, answering young minds questions, holding each other under the emerging stars. 

At bed time, the boys gather enough twigs to play some late night poker under the full moon, as has become tradition on the trail, and at some point we all dozed off peacefully around the cards.