#put a pin a third of the way because i got unsure of the consistency

[michyeosseo]

I do not care what other people do with their lives– I want you to live.

Li Bing Bing and Zhou Xun as LI NINGYU & GU XIAOMENG THE MESSAGE (2009) dir. Chen Kuo-fu, Gao Qunshu

[allegra-writes]

“Heartfelt”

Bar musician! Harry styles x Bartender!Reader

General audiences

Warnings: None

Just some Valentine's day fluff with our favorite green eyed boy. Dedicated to @gaycinnamonrollgirl for giving me the idea, and @tomsrebeleyebrow for patiently listening to me endlessly gush about Harry Styles and still being my friend. Happy belated Valentine's day 💖

"You don't have to say you love me

I just wanna tell you somethin'

Lately you've been on my mind..."

Adore you - Harry Styles

...Oh, she looks so good, oh, she looks so fine

And I got this crazy feeling that I'm gonna ah-ah…

"Bartender, my good friend! I'll have my usual and a plate of your finest chips, if you would be so kind"

It was closing time when Harry, the local musician, sat in front of you, elbows on the bar you were wiping down while humming to Patti Smith's "Gloria".

You raised an eyebrow at him, but the willowy man could see the slight tremble at the corner of your lips, a tell that you were suppressing a smile.

"I'm afraid the kitchen is closed, mister Styles. Sam left an hour ago."

"Yes yes, but I have it from a very good source he left you a big pile of leftover chips before he did," He accused, "you know, as he does every night..."

You frowned in confusion,

"I thought you hated cold fries. That you found them to be, and I quote, soggy and disgusting" 

"I guess you can say I acquired a taste for them" He shrugged, mischievous green eyes sparkling, "Just like you did for this lowlife songwriter in front of you and the heartfelt conversations you share with him" 

"Did you now?" There was an edge of scepticism in your voice, but you were already disappearing inside the kitchen. 

Harry's heart did a little jump as you didn't immediately deny liking him.

"Hey, Joe" he called out, "why don't you go home? I'll help Y/N close when we're done…" 

There was a deaf noise as a young waiter, the only person left in the bar beside the two of you, set the last chair on top of a table. 

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I got this" he reassured him, "did it dozens of times. Go home to your girl"

"Thanks, mate!" The second brit practically skipped on his way to the backroom, but turned around just before reaching the door. "Listen, you know I like you, but if you hurt y/n in any way…"

Harry smiled, genuinely. He could never get mad at anyone that protective of you.

"You know where I live. Pick my sister on the way, though. I think she would like to join you."

Joe rolled his baby blues,

"I know you're not a creep. I meant her heart"

"Yeah, me too…"

Whatever your friend saw inside Harry's eyes was enough to convince him. He nodded and left, as the musician got up to lock the front door and turn the "open" sign off. 

If you noticed Joe's absence at your return, you didn't comment on it, simply setting the giant pile of chips and two cans of cherry cola you were carrying, down in front of Harry, who had returned to his seat. 

"Ah, you always have the good stuff!" the sigh that left his lips as he took the first sip of the soda was not unlike the one any of your regulars made after the first taste of something strong after a hard day. 

"Rough night?" 

"Kind of. Good show though, so at least I have that going on for me…" 

"It really was, I'm actually impressed" You had to confess, "And surprised too, it was a bold choice going acoustic on a night like this, with such a big audience," So many people had gathered to see the show that the bouncer had to start rejecting people so you wouldn't have trouble with the fire department "but it definitely worked" 

There was a slight blush on the singer's cheeks when he replied, far more humble than you were used to,

"Well, you know, Valentine's day and all that. The band, all have boyfriends and girls they wanted to spend the evening with…"

You tilted your head,

"And you didn't?" It was hard to believe, when almost every night he played there you would see him leave with a different, always sculptural, painfully perfect girl. Or man. 

Harry didn't reply, choosing instead to stuff his face with stale fries.

"Alright then" You raised your shoulder in surrender, "keep your secrets…"

He squinted in disbelief,

"Did you just quoted The Lord of the Rings at me?"

"Did you just recognize my Lord of the rings quote?" You countered.

"You are such a nerd!"

"Look who's talking, chicken little!" You gestured at his powder blue sweater with a yellow baby chick at the front and herringbone pants. 

"Oi!" His manchester accent popped out, like it always did whenever he lost his cool "I'll have you know, this is Gucci"

You scoffed,

"That doesn't make it any better, it just means that you spent a shit load of money to look like my third grade teacher, mister Harrington!" 

"Ok, first of all," he countered, "your teacher sounds awesome and second-"

An inelegant snort escaped your mouth. Harry's emerald eyes pinned you down. 

"Second of all, you're no one to talk either, kitten hoodie" 

You could feel the heat creeping up your cheeks. Praying he couldn't see your blush in the dim light, you took a mouthful of soda to cool you down. 

For a moment, none of you said anything, the sweet notes of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" the only thing filling the silence.

… Players only love you when they're playing

Women, they will come and they will go...

"Listen, y/n-"

"If I'm being honest-" 

He chuckled,

"I'm sorry, ladies first" 

"Now I'm not sure if I wanna tell you…"

"Come on" A grown ass man pouting should not be that cute, "I want to know"

You feigned a long suffering sigh,

"Fine, if you must know- If you must know, I actually like your new style. It's way better than that... rock and roll cliche... thing you had going on when we first met" You gestured vaguely in the direction of his body, "You know, the long hair, black clothes, doc boots…" 

He flinched, 

"Ugh, Don't remind me. I was trying too hard back then. And not only with my clothes, with my music too"

"Oh, yeah, I remember. All you used to sing about was" You chose your words carefully, "frisky girls and being horny…" 

"Well, to be fair, I still sing about being horny"

"Yeah, but now you're…"

You trailed off, unsure of how you could explain the difference, the change in your feelings towards his music, without explaining the change in your feelings towards the man that made it.

However, Harry would not let it go that easy. He was used to you being sharp, opinionated, guarded. Now there was a crack on that armour, and he wanted to see what was underneath it. 

You hadn't even realized how close you had leaned into each other until his hot breath fanned over your face.

"Now I'm what, y/n?"

More real. More mature. More emotional, as if he had finally found the link, made the connection between sex and love. 

"More open"

Harry smiled,

"Open. Yeah, I like that…"

So close. He was so close now, his malaquite eyes were out of focus. So close you could feel his magnetic field, the gravity of his atoms pulling in yours.

"Harry…" 

Never in his twenty seven years of life and over ten as a musician, had he heard a more beautiful sound than his name, breathlessly falling from your lips.

"Yes?" He murmured, lips ghosting over your soft, perfect ones.

"No"

"No?"

"No" You repeated, more firmly, taking a step back, putting as much space between the two of you as possible, "I know what this is"

"And what is this, y/n" To your surprise, he didn't sound mad, or demanding. He sounded confused and sad. Dissapointed but unsurprised, as if he had expected it to go south or… never had dared expect it would actually happen at all. 

"A bad idea" You explained, "with guys like you, is always the same: You have beautiful women throwing themselves at you every night. And you take them home with you cause why wouldn't you? You are young, and free and hot. There is nothing wrong with taking what's being offered" 

"Y/n-"

"I'm not saying it's your fault" You went on, ignoring him, "And I'm not saying you don't fall in love, sometimes. But that's the exception, not the rule, and I… I'm the kind of girl that's the rule. Not the exception"

Harry had always thought the worst that could happen to him was losing your friendship. Finally making a move, a real move, and getting rejected by you. He thought that was the definitive pain, the one that would obliterate him, if things were not to work out. And he was almost certain they would not work out. 

But sitting there, in front of you, separated by a wooden bar that might as well have been the great wall of china as you stood there, arms around yourself, small and defenseless as you explained to him all the reasons why you wouldn't allow yourself to love him… that was way worse. 

"What if you already were my exception?" He blurted out, before he could stop himself, "What if I was in love with you?"

You laughed, bitterly.

"Harry, I'm not even your type. I've seen you leave night after night with models and socialites and actors, each one more surreally stunning than the last one…" You didn't have a bad self esteem, you didn't. You considered yourself attractive, but the people Harry usually went for were on a whole different level.

"Yes, but that's only because the most absolutely perfect woman in the world for me, keeps me at arm's length!" He rubbed his face in frustration, "And it's so maddening, so fucked up, the way I can't even get away from her long enough to get over her, because even the pain of seeing her every night knowing I can't touch what I see, that I will never have her, is better than the pain of being away from her. 

So I keep on taking home the hottest people I can find hoping they will keep me distracted long enough to fill the hours until I can see her again… until I can-"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Never, in all the time you had known each other, had Harry given you a single signal indicating he had any kind of feelings for you. Your relationship had always consisted of friendly banter and quip battles. Sure, you could get flirty sometimes, but you were a bartender, flirting was pretty much your customer service voice, and he was a musician, he would flirt with his own shadow if he could.

Harry opened his mouth to explain, but a familiar melody started coming from the still working speakers.

Walk in your rainbow paradise

Strawberry lipstick state of mind…

"Hey, this is my song!" You didn't quite understand why he seemed so marveled, "You never added any of my songs to your playlist before!"

Oh. Oh.

"Yeah, well" Harry could now clearly see your darkened cheeks as you stumbled over your words, "I guessed I never liked one of your songs so much before" 

This time, he was the one blushing and avoiding your eyes.

"What would you say if I told you-... If I told you I wrote this one for you?"

"I'd say you're full of shit" You scoffed, "Didn't you tell me you only ever wrote about girls you had dated?"

"No," he corrected, "I said I only ever wrote about women that had broken my heart…"

"How did I break your heart?"

Harry sighed. Your walls were back up, higher than ever, and he didn't know how to break through them. It wasn't your fault -and had it been your fault, truth was he could never blame you either, there was something about you that made it physically impossible for him to get mad at you- you spoke from experience, he didn't need to unlock the secrets of your past, didn't need the details. It was obvious you had been burned before, and though he hated it, hated them for whatever they had done to you, he couldn't fault you for trying to protect yourself.

Not when he wanted to protect you too. 

"You didn't like me, back when we first met"

"Harry-"

"No, it's ok. You didn't like me, and you were right not to like me. I know you probably didn't realize it but, that first time you rejected me, when I flirted with you that very first night and you rolled your eyes at me… you changed my life"

"What? How??"

"You weren't wrong, I was a cliche. And I was trying way too hard, to be cool, act like a rockstar… but you took a look at that guy, at that though, playboy, sex, drugs and rock 'n roll guy… and you hated him" Harry snickered. You didn't understand what about all that was so funny, "I had created that guy so that everyone would like him, and you hated him. And the funny thing is-" He finally met your eye. No, he caught your eye and imprisoned them, "The funny thing is, you hating me for what I wasn't, somehow allowed me to start being myself a little bit more, because if you already disliked me… then I had nothing to lose" 

You didn't quite know what to say to that.

His bright green eyes were unable to face yours, choosing instead to focus on the palms he was picking at,

"Is that why you… uhm…" You pointed at his sweater.

"Yup" He admitted, "I showed up here one day, on laundry day, in one of my old nerdy sweater vests and you smiled, when you saw it"

"I remember that!" You chuckled, "It was the brown striped one, it almost looked like a crop top, cause it obviously didn't fit anymore"

Harry nodded,

"I may have had a couple grow spurts since I got that in high school" 

"Ok, but, you made it work somehow…" 

"Thank you. The point is…" he turned serious again, his deep, rich voice even more hypnotic than usual. Or maybe it was just you, for the first time allowing yourself to enjoy it without reservations. "The point is, you didn't like cool Harry, but you liked the real me. Even if just a little bit, and that meant the world to me. I… I adored you because of it. So I wrote a song for you, cause even if I couldn't say it to your face, I had to get it out. Just like I had to get this out tonight"

He opened his arms wide, in his typical ta-da gesture, sad, resigned smile on his face, before getting up from his stool, grabbing his jacket and guitar case.

"You don't have to say anything, I don't expect you to love me back" He declared, "I just- I thought I'd let you know. Valentine's day and all that."

He turned to leave, his own voice still signing in the background,

I'd walk through fire for you, just let me adore you

 Oh, honey…

"Harry, wait!" You almost fell on your face, trying to jump over the bar, but managing to stop him right before he reached the door. His poorly concealed smirk told you he might have seen your little show, but you didn't care.

"Did you mean it? That you'd do anything for me?" 

"I did" He confirmed, earnestly, "I still do. Anything you want, just say the word"

"Well then," you took a step towards him, that he mirrored without even noticing, "what about a date? A daytime date. At a public place." You clarified. Harry did smirk at that.

"What's the matter, afraid you won't be able to keep your hands off me?" He teased, leaning closer. 

"Don't ruin this, Styles" You warned, raising to your tiptoes to meet him eye to eye.

His smile faltered, replaced by the most sincere intensity you had ever seen on his handsome face,

"Wouldn't dream of it, bartender" He whispered, before capturing your lips with his.

[thehikingviking]

Boundary Peak & Montgomery Peak from Queen Canyon Trailhead

Memorial Weekend was approaching and I wanted to plan a family trip up a noteworthy peak. Believe it or not, I actually caught Asaka perusing Peakbagger one night. She was looking at state high points. She already has climbed the high points of California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington (in addition to the high points of Mexico and Japan), so it made perfect sense to climb the high point of Nevada next. I had put off this peak for no good reason, so now I finally had enough motivation to write this one down on my official calendar. Also in the nearby vicinity of Boundary Peak is Montgomery Peak, which I needed to climb as well. I studied the distance, elevation gain and difficulty of the two peaks and came to the conclusion that I would be able to carry the baby to the summit of Boundary Peak, but it would not be prudent to continue to Montgomery Peak with the baby. Since Asaka was mostly interested in the Nevada high point, we agreed that I could leave the baby with her on Boundary Peak, and she could get a head start and carry Leif down the mountain without me. The second major challenge was how to manage the long drive. Our solution was to break it up in segments. We planned to lay over one night at my family cabin in Sonora. Our second night we planned to stay at Benton Hot Springs, stopping along the way for lunch and a short hike. Our third night we planned to camp near the trailhead at Queen Canyon Mine after doing a few short hikes in the greater Benton area. For the sake of completion, I will include a short summary of these small side hikes in my trip report.

I sent out some feelers to some prospects that I guessed would be interested. Brett Marciasini, Scott King and Sean King took the bait. I then extended the invite to some of my non-hiking friends Brian and Zach. I refer to them as my non-hiking friends not because they don’t hike, but because our friendships started from working at Texas Instruments at one point in time. They have been projects that I have been sculpting over time in the effort to develop new hiking partners. This would be a good test for both of them, as I planned a hybrid dirt bag weekend. While I usually take care of most of the specifics with regards to preparation, this time I felt they were ready to take on more responsibility, such as managing their own food, lodging and transportation. This new freedom would allow me to focus more on my wife and baby.

After our first night in the cabin, we drove over Sonora Pass and then down Highway 395 to the Mobile Mart where we had lunch. There was an easy peak called Sagehen Peak referenced in Andy Zdon’s book “Desert Summits” that I wanted to climb. Good dirt roads took us to the Sagehen Saddle, located less than a half mile from the summit. We possibly could have driven up to the summit, but we were all a little restless from riding in the car and we wanted to get some fresh air. After a short walk up the sandy road, we found a rocky outcropping that required a short, easy scramble. It was easy enough for me to climb with the baby in my arms.

Off towards the east were Boundary Peak, Montgomery Peak and Mt Dubois. A late season storm struck the Whites a week prior, and there was a little more snow that I anticipated.

To the north was Mono Lake.

It was a nice little peak, and we rested awhile on top, but there was a slightly higher summit called Crooked Benchmark to our west. We started back down the road so I could get started on the bonus peak.

A twister swirled through the forest on this calm and sunny day.

Zach decided to join me for Crooked Benchmark while the others waited at the car. I didn’t even bother putting on my hiking shoes expecting an easy walk up, but we soon found ourselves bushwhacking through willows. Zach decided early on that this was not fun, and smartly made the decision to turn around. My obsessive compulsiveness had me push forward, but it was rather unpleasant. I kept thinking that the brush would abate, but it remained consistent almost all the way to the top. I found a register at the summit and I had a good view of the Sierra Nevada.

I didn’t want to retrace my steps back down to the car. I walked to the ridge and yelled down at the others to pick me up on the south side of the summit. I don’t think they were able to understand me. I also sent a GPS pin to Brian, but received no response so was unsure if he got it. The southern slopes were much easier. I dealt with some sage brush scratching my shins, but this was a minor inconvenience. I walked out the road, and I eventually found the others parked where I left the pin. We then drove to Benton Hot Springs where I checked in for the evening. We barbecued on Zach’s grill and drank some beer.

I felt a little awkward since Zach and Brian would be left on their own to camp in the desert while Asaka, Leif and I had reservations at the historic inn. I booked the last available room and there was simply no other option. I drove them to a flat tract of BLM land and apologized. Zach responded by stating something along the lines of, “Are you kidding me? This area is incredibly beautiful and we are happy to stay here.”

It was beautiful as dusk descended upon the snow covered Boundary Peak and Montgomery Peak above. I no longer felt guilty. Leif was sleeping when I returned, so Asaka and I snuck out to enjoy the hot springs.

Montgomery Peak was visible from our tub.

The next morning we regrouped at Benton Hot Springs and awaited the arrival of Brett and the Kings. After a round of introductions, we followed Yellow Jacket Road south through the Benton Paiute Reservation. I turned left on a 4WD road I spotted from satellite view and the topo map. We planned to hike from here, but I decided to see how far I could drive. Scott was a little less zealous about driving up the road than I was, so he and Sean piled into Brett’s truck and they followed me. With a great deal of patience, we made it almost the whole way up the peak. We parked at a mine in between Blind Spring Hill and Diane Peak.

It took us all but five minutes to reach the to of Blind Spring Hill.

To the southwest was the Sierra Nevada.

To the west was Glass Mountain Ridge.

To the east were Montgomery Peak and Mt Dubois.

To the southeast was White Mountain.

While the peak was “just okay”, the summit register contents were a treat. Scraps went back to 1966.

The refurbished book was a standard Gordon Macleod and Barbara Lilley register, which is almost a standard for all the arcane desert peaks throughout the southwest.

One of the early signatures was from Andy Zdon, the author of “Desert Summits”. If was solely because of his book that I decided to climb this peak in the first place. 

In addition to Blind Spring Hill, there are six other named summits in close proximity along this ridge. These little peaklets were most likely named because of mining claims, and are hardly peaks at all. Since we had a full day ahead of us, we decided to only climb Diana Peak as a bonus peak, as this was less than a quarter mile from our car. 

The little bump was not much of a peak, but allowed us to pad the stats. 

We walked back down to the car and drove back to Benton. We were ahead of schedule so we decided to visit Trafton Mountain and Antelope Mountain just north of town. I led the way with my Jeep, but unknowingly made a big navigational error. There is a very good 2WD road that follows a powerline that crosses over the saddle between Trafton Mountain and Antelope mountain, but I somehow missed it. Instead, I led the group up a rarely driven 4WD road. It was incredibly rough and sketchy in parts. At one point we had to get out of our vehicles to move a fallen tree.

I was relieved to finally reach the better powerline road, but I was a little ashamed. We wasted a lot of time and mental energy dealing with that section of road. Asaka and Leif decided to skip Trafton Mountain and instead ate some lunch. We left them in the shade and started hiking towards the peak.

We hiked southwest up sandy and rocky slopes. It was a little too warm for my liking. Brian ran into a little issue when he kicked a cactus with his finger shoes. It took us about an hour to reach the summit.

We were again blessed with another Zdon signature in the register.

One the way down we found the remains of a deer.

Brett had a go at it, ripping the head clean from the still attached leg.

Brian was a little surprised to see us admire the carcass with such enthusiasm. I told him that dismantling dead animals is what white people do for fun.

We found sandy slopes on the way down. In the end it was a 2.6 mile outing.

Once reunited with Asaka and Leif, we got back in the car and followed a spur road all the way to the summit of Antelope Mountain. There were several structures on the summit. To the west was the salt flat called Antelope Lake.

To the south was Trafton Mountain.

I was mostly satisfied after 3 summits from Andy Zdon’s book. We drove back to the freeway following the good road this time. The difference was night and day. After filling up gas in Benton, we drove into Nevada, then took a right on Queen Mine Road. We spotted a Mustang in the canyon below Mustang Peak.

We stopped at Queen Mine where we decided to spend the night. We considered camping at the Queen Mine Trailhead, but settled on this location because it offered wind protection. Also, it was a really cool spot.

We spent the next few hours grilling Brett’s self-killed Bison, drinking beer and listening to music by the campfire. Sean and I thought about heading up Mustang Mountain, but in the end I decided against it, feeling a little worn out from earlier.

The next morning we drove the remaining mile up the road to the Queen Mine Trailhead. My Jeep and Scott’s 4Runner had no problems with the road.

I told everyone not to wait for me, since I would be slow carrying the baby. Asaka picked up Leif and then left me! That message wasn’t meant for them.

I organized some last minute things then started off at 6:45am.

The trailhead is at 9,800 feet, which is pretty high. I spent the first mile or so focusing on breathing. Asaka thankfully waited for me and we hiked in unison.

It felt like a Martian landscape with the moon setting above the desolate terrain.

There was a really good trail climbing up the ridge. A lone deer watched me as I slowly lugged my payload uphill.

Even with my extra weight, I passed Brian early on. I hoped that this hike wasn’t too much for him. After a mile, Boundary Peak came into view.

T'was a lovely family day.

The trail stayed flat for 1.7 miles until Trail Canyon Saddle. Brett, Zach and the Kings were already way ahead of us and out of sight.

To my pleasant surprised, we ran into a herd of mustangs.

I think one of them was pregnant. There were several foals among the herd.

Brian paused for a while to photograph the ungulates.

We stopped for Leif’s breakfast along this flat portion. Maintaining his schedule is very important, even if it means falling further behind the group. He ate his blueberry oatmeal and banana without a care in the world. I was concerned since Brian hadn’t caught up to us by the time Leif finished his breakfast, but my priority was with my family. We continued all the way to Trail Canyon Saddle.

The fun part was now over for me. From here on out, I had to put in the work. The route continued steeply from here on out, but this was made easier since the trail remained underfoot. I finally spotted Brian down below and by all indications he was continuing. Across the saddle was Trail Canyon Saddle Peak. I hoped to tag this bonus peak on my return.

The false summit of Hosebag Peak was a little deceptive. It would have been worse if I didn’t expect. It was a little demoralizing to know that I still had to climb 1,000 feet from here, but it was still early and I was making good time.

Love.

The trail stays atop the ridge. The snow caused no impediment.

The ridgeline became more serrated and the trail eventually petered out. There are class 2 ways up from here, but if one is not paying attention, they can easily find themselves on class 3. 

I could spot Sean and Zach on the summit from below.

Asaka chose a lower route while I stayed closer to the top of the ridge. I felt like we were going slow, but then I spotted Brett and Scott not so far ahead of us.

A light trail reemerged higher up the mountain. I worried that Sean and Zach were waiting too long for me on top. I worried that Brian wouldn’t make the summit.

I had to cross some soft snow as I neared the top, but this was not a challenge. Montgomery Peak finally came into view beyond.

We reached the summit at 10:45am, four hours after we started out.

I unloaded the baby, inadvertently waking him in the process. Hey bud, welcome to the high point of Nevada.

Sean had been waiting on the summit for over an hour. He beat Zach by 20 minutes. Brett and Scott were only about 10 minutes ahead of Asaka and me. Brian was still nowhere to be found. I texted Brian and told him that he had a 1pm turn around time, and I told Scott to tell Brian to turn around if he had not made the summit by that time. I relieved myself of baby carrying duties and let Asaka take care of the rest. Brett, Sean, Zach and I turned our focus to Montgomery Peak. We dropped off the mountain and hiked towards the saddle where we crossed the California and Nevada border.

We had read a diverse set of claims from various trip reports and weren’t quite sure what to expect. In the end, the traverse was mostly class 2 with some easy class 3 and a few sections of loose rock.

We hiked mostly on top of the ridge, but in the places where the ridge became sharp, we stayed underneath the left side. The route finding was very easy and well placed cairns but and end to any doubts.

A lone climber passed us on the final stretch. Once on the summit we introduced ourselves and I learned that he went to my same climbing gym in San Jose. To the north were Mt Dubois and White Mountain.

To the southwest were Benton Point and the Sierra Nevada.

Way below us to the northwest were the diminutive Trafton Mountain and Antelope Mountain. Beyond that were the high peaks of Yosemite and a sliver of Mono Lake.

Way off to the north were Mt Grant and Walker Lake.

To the northeast were the Volcanic Hills and desert wasteland.

To the east ran Middle Creek Canyon.

The conditions couldn’t have been better. On our return, we decided to pick a route staying along the top of the ridge. Brett, who was a little nervous of the ridge traverse at first, mastered this knife edge section and proved to all that he is a master scrambler.

-Middle Creek

Our remaining group was gone by the time we reached Boundary Peak.

We took only a short break here before descending back down. Brett and I stopped to bag Hosebag Peak, which stood just a few minutes off the trail. Sean already did this on the way up, and he had his eyes set on the bonus peak Mustang Mountain on the other side of Queen Canyon Saddle. Zach didn’t seem to care about any more bonus peaks and simply continued down.

From Hosebag Peak, we followed the trail down to Trail Canyon Saddle.

Brett and I then marched up barren slopes to the summit of our last bonus peak for the day.

The views from the summit were sublime.

From the summit, we continued down the ridgeline until we naturally intersected the trail.

I left Brett somewhere along this off trail section and began a powerwalk once I reached the trail. 

I soon caught up to Brain. I was thrilled to learn that he made the summit before his turn around time. He seemed to be having a great day.

I was surprised to catch Zach next. He was seriously feeling the altitude. I bade him farewell and continued ahead. Asaka and Scott just barely beat me back to the car. I was happy to see my wife and baby happy and in one piece. Apparently Leif spotted a herd of deer and pointed them out to the previously unaware Asaka and Scott.

Brian finished the hike at the same time that Sean came back from Mustang Peak, so timing was perfect. After some hydrating, we all hopped back in the cars and drove back out to Highway 6.

Once on pavement, we said goodbye to the Kings who had High Sierra plans later in the week. The rest drove back to Lee Vining for dinner. Asaka was tired and the baby was fussy, but things got better once we all got some dinner inside of our bellies.

After dinner, we found a dirtbag spot just outside of Bridgeport where we spent the night. We planned to climb South Sister in the Sweetwaters the following day before driving back home to the Bay Area.

[6ixfics]

more than this / donghyun

rated M for smut word count: 2420

it felt like your world came crumbling down to your feet. the last thing that crossed your mind was being cheated on — but that was what happened. you got played, two-timed.

you let yourself wallow in self-pity and loathe as you drink the night away, losing count of the number of shots you’d taken, maybe even bottles. you don’t know. you just feel yourself getting number, and number, until it’s like you don’t know what it’s like to feel anything anymore. void of emotions, but your heart was aching, filled with sadness up to the brim.

you cry as you stumble your way to the bus stop, having to pause at the sidewalk a few times to throw up. you feel yourself getting grossed out — you just wanted to be in the comfort of your bed, curled up under your covers, hugging your big, soft plushie. but it’s dark out and the friday night is still young, with people clubbing and finding hookups.

it’s your luck your home was only a short 15 minute ride away from the little bar, and you tried your best to stabilise yourself as you make your way to the lift. god, your headache was killing you, and on top of that, there’s that sadness that’s starting to creep up your chest again. you can’t wait to finally be home and get a good rest and sleep in for the weekend.

“y/n? what the hell?” it’s donghyun. “hey, why didn’t you answer my texts, my calls– what happened?” his features soften upon seeing the tears threatening to fall on your cheeks, concern clearly written all over his face. he frowns and holds you still by your shoulders, cautiously brushing your hair out of your eyes. “let’s get you inside, okay? you can tell me everything later.”

but the moment you step into your cozy flat, you almost immediately fall to the floor, in the midst of your drunken clumsiness. donghyun catches you right before you hit the ground, slinging one arm around his shoulders and walking you to the small couch.

“what’s wrong? i know you have your tipsy days but you’re never this drunk…” he trails off, helping you get your purse off you. “y/n? you can tell me. i’m your best friend.”

“i got cheated on,” you tell him, short and flat. “i got cheated on, donghyun! someone else was better than me!” you laugh dryly, staring at him blankly before violently wiping at the tears at your tear ducts. “i feel like absolute shit, i just want to forget all of this ever happened tonight.”

you lean in close enough until your head lands on his chest. in your half-drunken state you snuggle closer and relish the attention he gives you. though in complete silence in a dimly lit living room, the atmosphere got you feeling a little hot and bothered.

“donghyun,” you whine, just the tiniest bit. “can you help me?” you look up at him through your lashes. you’re unsure if it’s going to end well — this friendship is going to make or break, and if it’s going to break, you figured, at least you’re drunk and not thinking straight. when he nods and pushes your hair away from your forehead, you blink one-two times, a little hesitant to say it. “help me. forget everything.”

he looks at you as if you’ve gone insane, but he recovers a quick moment later. he tilts your chin up with his index and his thumb, his eyes significantly darkening. “are you sure?” he grazes his thumb over your bottom lip, his index tracing down your jaw and your neck. “i’m not the nicest person in bed.”

“even better,” you tell him sluggishly, “you can do whatever you want.”

you forget about the hypocrisy the instant that donghyun covers your lips with his, the kiss quickly getting heated and fast-paced. he guides you to climb onto his lap, and his hands are hasty to creep beneath your fitted top and pull it above your head. with the new exposure of skin he seems way too delighted, working his mouth down to your collarbone and the vast expanse of your chest, his tongue teasing at the uncovered skin of your swells. donghyun can drive you mad, you decide, as he roughly sucks on the plane of your neck, your throat, your shoulder blades; each mark he leaves blooming like flowers of vivid reds and purples on your skin.

he unclasps your bra skillfully, pulling the pair off your shoulders and chucking it behind the couch, before throwing you on the cushions a little harshly, lips still connected. after he pulls away for a short moment, donghyun’s large hands roam wildly on your body, every touch making you feel like your skin was on fire. he trails kisses down your chest, your ribs, your stomach, his fingers already unbuttoning and unzipping your jeans.

you’re breathless when he strips the pair off you and lets it fall to the cold tiles, watching as his lips scatter themselves all over your hips and your thighs, careful to not get too near to your core. he teases — nibbling and sucking lightly at the sensitive skin of your inner thighs, pulling the waistband of your panties with his teeth and letting it go to hear it snap against your skin.

you hiss when he licks up a long stripe, not bothering to even push the fabric aside. donghyun looks up at you, his piercing gaze causing a chill to run down your spine and something indescribable to rush through your veins. you reach out to tangle your fingers in his soft hair, your free hand tugging at your panties, urging him to pull them off.

and so he complies wordlessly, dragging the thin strap down your legs and once again letting it disappear in the pool of clothes on the floor. his pupils dilate at the sight of you, drinking it in, not even trying to hide the hunger in his eyes as his tongue swipes across his lips.

“pretty,” he kisses your pubic bone, his finger outlining your clit, making goosebumps rise on your skin. when he slides the same finger down your folds, the ends of his mouth twitches up to form a small smirk. “and wet.”

you dip down to catch his lips in a kiss desperately, getting agitated at how slow this is going. “want your fingers in me,” you tell him impatiently. “please.”

“i got you, baby,” he whispers against your mouth. “we have all night, i’ll take my time taking care of you.”

donghyun teases again, slowly rubbing at your sensitive bud, his touch barely there. you whine and whimper, clawing at his arm, one hand placed on top of his to try to get him to go faster. but ultimately you fail, pretty horribly while you’re at it, because his empty hand catches your wrist and pins it above your head.

“you’re not telling me what to do, buttercup,” he mumbles as he plants small kisses on your jaw. “one more time you try me and you can only dream of cumming.”

his words made you squirm, and as he works his way back down to your clit he spreads your legs further apart, throwing one over the headrest of the couch. he hooks his arm underneath your thigh, positioning himself directly in front of you.

you think you can cry, as you feel his calloused thumb drawing circles on your bud, and his tongue working on your folds, licking up and down slowly. occasionally he would lewdly suck on your clit, his eyes not tearing away from yours, knowing the effect he has on you.

donghyun progresses to something else — giving you what you had wanted earlier. he presses in his middle finger, cautiously pushing it in. he looks up at you, careful not to hurt you, but still eager to finger fuck you and see you writhe and shake when you’re so immensed in the pleasure.

“so fucking tight,” his voice is quiet as he pushes it in up to his knuckle. you gasp and grip the armrest behind you, eyes shut tight as he starts moving it in and out of you in a slow, steady pace. “god, just look at you.” he fucks you through it, adding a second finger, later a third, keeping things as slow as possible, agonising you more and more. as he stretches you open bit by bit, he keeps himself busy, paying attention to your breasts, allowing his lips to dance across them like a waltz, scattering small and chaste kisses.

“fuck, fuck fuck fuck, donghyun, please–” you purse your lips together, holding back a scream when he hits the spot. your hand comes out again to rest on top of his, silently pleading for him to go faster. he knew you were approaching your high; he feels it in the way your walls clench around his digits, but his stamina is unbelievable, still keeping the pace constant and making you sit around and purr like an animal in heat.

he takes you by surprise, suddenly picking up the speed and fucking you with his fingers at an immensely fast pace. “ah, fuck!” you let out a scream, followed by a few more when he hits you in all the right places. “fuck, fuck– oh god, god, please, please don’t stop!”

what’s your luck? he stops the moment you said it.

“no, no,” you whine, your thighs trembling as you paw at his arms weakly. “nooo, go on, why’d you stop…”

you practically mewl as you watch him suck his fingers dry, not tearing his glinting eyes away from yours for even a split second. you reach out for his hand, and when he lets you take it you immediately put his fingers in your mouth, tasting yourself.

“please,” you beg quietly, guiding his hand back to your dripping wet core. “i’ll be good.”

he hesitates, but pushes his three fingers back in you anyway, not giving you time to react. he shifts in his spot to kiss all over your body, basking in the noises that tumble from between your lips as his fingers thrust in and out of you at a brutal, consistent pace.

“fuck, fuuuck,” you fist a handful of his shirt, desperately kissing him, letting him swallow your moans. he pulls away and glances down, a smirk making its way onto his lips.

he bites on your lobe, making you jump in your spot alongside your insides coiling into tight knots. “so fucking wet for me… you can hear it, can’t you?” his voice is octaves lower, and you only manage to hum pathetically. “cum. cum for me, cum for me, baby, let me see you.”

donghyun fucks his fingers in you through it, past it, until your knees are kicking this way and that and almost your whole body is shivering. “pretty,” he runs his hand down your chest, your abdomen, holding your hips down to stop you from shaking. “so, so pretty.”

“want you,” you unsteadily grip his shoulders, eyes glassy and blown wide, lips pursed into a pout. “please, i want you.”

he plants a kiss to your forehead, giving you a small smile before he gets rid of his jeans. he lifts you up to his lap, hands tight on your waist, while your forearms rest on his shoulders. slowly, his hands urge you to move, grinding against his cock.

he lets out a sigh, pulling you closer and biting at your shoulder blade, his hand still keeping the same slow pace as you feel yourself getting wet again. his boxers are stained with his pre-cum, but donghyun has next level patience.

“ride me,” he strains out, flush high, and you climb out of his lap for a moment to allow him to strip off his boxers. you obey, sinking into him, hands linked behind his neck.

he lets you take control, bouncing on his dick at a good pace, and though you’re a little embarrassed and try to hide your face behind your hand, he pries it away and instead gently holds it in his own. you start to get inconsistent, too caught up in the pleasure, throwing your head back and massaging your breasts and pinching at your nipples, shaky breaths escaping your mouth.

but donghyun knew better.

with your legs wrapped around his waist, he lays you down to your previous spot. without warning, he thrusts into you quickly, making your chest heave and fall as you try to catch your breath. his elbows are placed at either side of your head on the armrest, and when you glance down you can see his dick moving in and out of you through your skin.

the new angle sends your eyes rolling back and back arching. the tempo is consistent and relentless, angle precise and unforgiving. you cry and twist, thighs shaking and chest heaving again, until your whole body seizes and your legs give out. donghyun watches you, drunk on pleasure and writhing beneath him, a constant stream of moans and abrupt gasps coming from you.

he pulls out, giving himself a few quick pumps, and then he cums, hips stuttering as his cock twitches, drooling cum onto your stomach. he dips down to kiss you, clean hand wiping away the sweat, caressing your face gently.

“i love you,” he tells you, only inches away from your face. “i mean it. i love you, y/n. i do. not as your best friend, but from a guy to a girl. i love you,” donghyun runs his fingers through your hair. “but i don’t know if you’ll remember this in the morning…”

but just hearing him talk again made you feel like you’ve already sobered up. “i will,” you reassure him weakly. “i hear you. i know… what’s happening.”

for a few minutes, he’s on top of you, gently kissing down your body, squeezing your sides and your arms and your thighs. he takes his time with you, his touch barely there, soft and featherlight. when he kisses you it’s slow and placid, and you feel yourself melt into his touch.

“let’s get you cleaned up, okay? before you fall asleep right here with cum on you,” he chuckles lightly, lifting you up so you’re clinging onto him. “you’re like a baby koala bear.”

“complaining?” you grumble tiredly.

“no, you’re cute,” he kisses your nose. “so cute.”

[ty-talks-comics]

Best of DC: Week of May 8th, 2019

Best of this Week: Batman and the Outsider #1 - Bryan Hill, Dexter Soy, Veronica Gandini and Clayton Cowles

After a resolicitation leading to a long delay, the Outsiders are finally here and damn was the wait worth it.

Batman’s team of Outsiders has always been for the purpose of conducting missions outside of the purview of the Justice League. The Outsiders usually consist of heroes that aren’t afraid to get dirty and extra violent or new heroes that need to learn how to work as a team or with their powers. This team is the latter.

Beginning with a girl and her father being attacked by an unnamed supervillain, the father is killed upon being touched by the man, but the girl isn’t. The implication being that she is special somehow, much like how Violet Harper was when she was murdered and the Aurakle spirit took over her body, creating Halo in the original Outsiders book. The girl is then tossed off of the highway into a gas truck that explodes and should have burned her alive, but she walks away soon after.

Later on, Lightning and Bruce have a conversation about the purpose of the team. Lightning has reservations about the rest of team, believing Duke to not be cut out for it, Cass to be having too much fun and Katana being too dangerous. Batman, however, tells Jeff that they’re better off with him than as just more students of Batman. Batman’s crusade is becoming increasingly more dark and those kids need someone that can lead them down a path of light and Black Lightning is that man.

We then cut to an awesome few scenes as Signal (Duke Thomas), Orphan (Cassandra Cain), Katana and Black Lightning fight a minigun wielding maniac named Saint John, looking like a bargain bin Juggernaut. Duke and Orphan are pinned down under the gun fire and Duke’s been instructed to wait for Lightning, but instead tries to rush Saint John. Lightning appears in the nick of time with Katana and save the two kids.

I really love how Soy draws Lightning here, he commands respect and strength and looks like a badass, but Duke just rebuffs his help. This book was originally supposed to release alongside or a little bit after an arc in Detective Comics where Duke and Cassandra were targeted by a villain named Karma. In that story, Karma tricked Duke into walking into a trap and put him on the shelf for a little while and Cassandra notes to Lightning and Katana that he’s likely still suffering from some kind of PTSD from it.

He later has a similar conversation with Katana while they spar with… well, katanas. Dexter Soy tells a story with his art, painting Lightning as unsure of himself, defensive while Katana is assured and measured in her movements, mirroring their respective thoughts on the team. Katana tells him that above all else, they need to know that Lightning is committed to them as a team. Black Lightning only recently came back in a big way in Detective Comics, so he’s not used to leading on a team that effectively is under Batman’s own view. He’s more used to teaching high school kids and Cass and Duke are in a different ballpark.

Batman calls the team together as he’s got new information about the girl that was thrown from the bridge earlier in the issue. Apparently he helped out her family while they and others were being experimented on to create metahumans and hers was the only family that Batman was able to save. This storyline being eerily reminiscent to the current Young Justice: Outsiders show also helps to promote both. Batman tasks the team to save the girl, who we then see approached by some sort of time traveller, named Kaliber, that tells her that she brings humanity from the ashes of an apocalypse, setting up the next few issues of the book and the possible end villain of the arc, Ra’s al Ghul.

I’ve been hyped to get back to all of these characters and they’ve returned in excellent form. I love how conflicted Duke is, suffering his… I guess second trauma while serving with Batman. I love how unsure Black Lightning is to be leading his new team. I love how confident Katana is being a part of something that doesn’t involve her murdering people constantly, same with Orphan.

Dexter Soy is also the perfect artist for this book because he’s an excellent panel-to-panel storyteller and utilizes great facial expression and body language to give each of these characters personality. Their designs are also amazing, especially Black Lighting. His art revitalized Red Hood and the Outlaws and likely will do the same here.

Outsiders books have always captivated me for how clandestine and personal their stories tend to be and with Bryan Hill at the helm, this is shaping up to be one of the better books coming out right now for DC!

---------------------------------------------------

The Dynamic Duo rides again.

Runner Up: Detective Comics #1003 - Peter J. Tomasi, Brad Walker, Andrew Hennessy, Nathan Fairbairn and Rob Leigh

In the previous issue, Damian was kidnapped by The Arkham Knight and her acolytes and taken to the bottom of the asylum itself. This book begins with Damian escaping from his cell, but The Knight is waiting for him. Instead of attacking or threatening him to get back to his cell, they remove their mask, revealing the face of a normal looking blond, blue eyed woman. She reveals that her motivation is to gain Damian’s trust and that showing her face is a step in a direction that’ll make him want to leave the shadow of the big bad Batman.

Some of her subordinates, angry that Damian beat them up once or twice, attack the boy and The Knight savagely beats and maims them before letting Damian go, calling it a gesture of good faith between them. Soon after, Damian makes contact with an elated Batman and reunite to track down who she is and who she might be.

What I liked best about this second third of the book is that Damian and Bruce connect again. Bruce commends Damian on his expert drawing abilities as he sketches The Knights face. The two banter the only way they know how and genuinely seem to enjoy each others company, something that’s been sorely lacking since Rebirth started. Better yet, it sets up a possible change in their relationship if the two have to fight against the Knight together while she’s trying to turn Damian toward the light.

Meanwhile, The Arkham Knight is lambasting her subordinates for their actions, telling them that they made a vow of loyalty to her and by deliberately disobeying her orders, they must be disciplined again. She opens the cell of Doctor Phosphorus, who also seems to have been brought to her side, and orders him to use his powers to burn the backs of the two acolytes. More than anything, I love the religious zealotry on display here. Both acolytes look very regretful for what they’ve done, a credit to Brad Walkers art, and look like they’re in serious pain upon receiving their punishments. They cry and scream, but they do not resist her as she makes a sermon about what the suns on their armor mean, about how they will cast away the shadows made by Batman.

So far, this Arkham Knight story isn’t disappointing like ANOTHER ONE WAS. Even her revealing herself, possibly as some psychotic teenager, was decently done. The biggest upside however, has to be the way that she operates as a villain alongside her cult and the renewed relationship between Batman and Damian at least in this book. Brad Walkers expressive and dynamic art also helps to set this storyline apart from most of the other Detective Comics stories, choosing to focus on action and big flashy scenes only made better by Hennessys inks and Fairbairns colors.

I definitely recommend it!

[kaedekisaragi]

Kaede Kisaragi Watches The Flash S3E18 - Abra Kadabra

“For Merlin’s Beard, Mr. Malfoy, your arm is fine, you can go now!”

Stagg Industries. Which may be about to be bought out. Millions of dollars in equipment no one is using. And a white evil-accented man is about to abscond with it. As soon as the guards try to shoot him, he teleports inside a box with some tech inside. And just like that, he vanishes... leaving the two trapped in the box. Which is rapidly filling with water come from nowhere.

Iris and Barry, the happy couple, is telling Joe and his gal about the proposal. She's so psyched she invites the three to go with her to see Hamilton... First week of july. Uhhh... way to ruin the mood. Barry though, he refuses to let this ruin it, and promises all of them will be there. Back in the lab, Cisco is vibing the scene of iris's death once again. Nothing changed. They are struggling to understand how to handle this when it all just happens to make sense when it's about to happen. The cop trio gets called away by the crime scene. Caitlin notes to Julian how she found an envelope with tickets for the opera, which he claims he got them before their argument, but now, he has no use for them, so they are hers. Cisco does not help by making a 'things gone frosty' pun. Caitlin has an icy glare in response.

The two guards drowned. The trio is puzzled, because there is no water access, and the cameras are non-existant, since Stagg Industries refuse to allow any leaks on their labs. Naturally, they also got no idea what got stolen, because tight lips are the rules here. Cisco calls in about another robbery at Kord Industries. Flash makes his way there. And... the thief knows who he is. And about Iris and Savitar. Because he is from the future...

Okay this plot is going predictable, isn't it?

Flash tries to snag him, but his arm gets loose... he gets a flash to his face (ha!) and the guy would escape, if not for the timely arrival of Gypsy. He mocks her for still wanting revenge, before disappearing in a cloud of cards.

So yeah, he is Abra Kadabra, and he has some sort of nanotech in his body that lets him disguise highly advanced tech as magic. Arthur C Clarke's Third Law. Cisco shows his eagerness to work with Gypsy by delivering puns left and right, to Iris and Joe's groaning reactions. Barry... fixates on the fact Abra Kadabra hails from the 64th century.

Cisco can't vibe Kadabra, so he puts the satellites to look for different-vibing folks. Gypsy bemoans how she has none of this tech at earth-19. Cisco keeps on putting moves on her, offering to crash at her world for some help there... apparently forgetting he'd be put to death for even stepping there. He also insists their kiss was not a one time thing. She seems... severely unsure what to tell him. The sats find kadabra, and the team takes off, Kid Flash coming too (despite how he was gonna be benched). They can't catch him though, because he was just a hologram, so dual vibe blast did nothing.

AND THEN HE SHOWS UP AT THE LAB, WHERE JOE CAITLIN AND JULIAN ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HIS NANOTECH. He turns joe's gun into a squirt gun, then blasts them flying, cueing them to flee. They get attacked as they try to regroup, but Flash arrives in time to snap the meta cuffs on kadabra... Who immediately tries to buy his freedom by promising to tell Savitar's secret. He knows his name.

Gypsy is not happy that they pipelined him, but tells them to get what they need and give him to her right away. Kadabra provokes the team, rubbing it in that his life is the key to stopping Savitar: or they free him from gypsy, or barry will lose iris. Cisco meanwhile, confirms Gypsy's less about justice and more vengeance right now, for Kadabra stole someone from her. Caitlin patches up Julian, who tries to dismiss his wound by quoting Python. Way to go brit. Caitlin apologizes for being so focused on not hurting him as killer frost she forgot she could hurt him as caitlin. She doesn't want his trust, but does want his forgiveness. She leaves before he answers.

At the West home, Barry is not sure what to do. Iris, in a bit of a contradiction from the scene earlier, asks how they can be sure kadabra knows anything. Which is good, mind you, but earlier she seemed as intent on keeping him here as Joe. Consistency would be nice. Barry complains how he should be allowed this one 'win' after all the criminals they bagged. Iris tells him not to let Kadabra save her, but to let himself save her... You know, the thing Barry promised he'd do last episode? The thing just last episode?

Only it is Joe who, armed to teeth, goes talk to Kadabra. Joe knows he is not just a thief, he's looking for something else. Joe says he'll blow him up if he takes one step before telling him anything, moving to open the door. Gypsy breaches into the room, just as Kadabra was about to tell the name of Savitar. Joe screams at her, she breaches after him. And we soon find what Kadabra was looking for... Thawne's Time Vault. He grabs a small globe in the wall. He flees, blasting joe caitlin and julian with a bomb... Caitlin is taken from under the rubble... with a pipe sticking out from her stomach.

Caitlin is with many shrapnel inside her. She can't go to a hospital, or else they'll ID her as the meta who killed cops. She refuses to use her powers to regenerate either. She demans Julian to operate on her, while she is awake to guide him. Gypsy mouths off Joe for letting Kadabra loose, refusing to let him pin the guilt of his escape on her, because he was the one who opened the door. Cisco complains she's out of order, but she finally lets it clear: Kadabra killed her partner. Who was also her partner. It was a long time ago, but he meant something for her. She won't let him escape next time she sees him. No more delays. She knows what it is like to care so much for someone, so she will make sure he pays.

Sooo.... Julian is operating on Caitlin. Who is awake. While Iris is his nurse. The last shrapnel is huge, stuck behind possibly a tendon... They got no time. So Julian rips it out. But manages it. Stitching up. Caitlin ready to pass out. Whew! Gypsy comes in, having concluded Kadabra is trying to build a time machine to get back to the future. Cisco realizes the stuff stolen by Kadabra is what he used to make Thawne's time capsule, with the power source being the ball thingy. Gypsy is going alone, refusing to trust the team. Barry talks her into realizing they both got fooled, and it's time they work together to get him, or else they'll both lose.

Kadabra is flying in his ship, engaging the time portal. The Flashes run after him as he tries to lose them. Vibe and Gypsy come join them, pulling a YOU SHALL NOT PASS. Kid Flash gets blasted off a building, rescued by vibe's breaching. Flash runs after the time ship as it opens another breach... He overcharges, running past it, then leaps at it, phasing through the hull, grabbing kadabra and taking him out of the ship. The ship flies by itself into the portal, disappearing. Gypsy cuffs him and drags him off, Kadabra reiterating they'll never know what he knows, and Iris will die.

The whole team is in despair mode, as Gypsy is taking kadabra away. Barry says he'll not free him, and instead urges for the part of him that has someone he cares about to tell him what he needs to know. Kadabra sneers, saying that Flash is his enemy in the future, and that he has many enemies... He name drops a possible future hint in "DeVoe"... And he says he now feels like he can kill Iris too. He is taken away, Cisco telling Gypsy he is not sure where this leaves them.

Julian is sitting by Caitlin's side. Julian is in awe at Caitlin's courage in letting him operate on her. He kisses her. Or tries, since he rubs against her stitches. The two will be alright, at least. Iris comforts Joe for his fear he's not being strong for his kids, explaining how he'd fear when she was little she'd die while asleep. He doesn't know what to do to save her. Barry walks in, saying he does: all their foes are one step ahead of them because they know what will happen. Not anymore. Barry is gonna run to the future to learn what he needs to save her.

Stinger. Caitlin has no more strawberry jell-o. The horror. HR comes in, having spent two days away romping with a girl Rhonda who is into new positions. Caitlin promises not to tell HR about Cisco being worried about him... And then she starts crashing. Julian, Cisco and HR try to revive her, she's possibly with a blood clot. They try to defibrillate her thrice, it doesn't work. She's flatlining. Julian keeps trying to revive her, but cisco and HR break down. She's gone. Julian refuses to let her die, ripping her necklace off of her. She revives, her body regenerating. And her powers exploding, sending everyone flying with frost.

Killer Frost.

Right... so... why didn't Cisco vibe him? Rather, why not both of them, cisco and gypsy? They didn't say they couldn't vibe him in person, just they couldn't vibe that fake arm. Vibe him, find what he knows, bang, we done. I know his powers maybe might not work that way, but why didn't they try that?

We all knew it'd be a love decision that would ruin Caitlin's chances of not becoming Killer Frost. And given the sheer intensity of her explosion, it is clear that bottling her powers did not help her any, it only made sure her change would be more permanent.

And Barry. Barry Allen. What in the devil's name are you trying to pull? Time Travel is not gonna be the way you'll fix every problem you have! Travelling to the future will not give you any sollutions, because the future is NOT permanent! It is always in flux! You learned that yourself! And you also learned from Jay not to use Time Travel to fix everything! YOU KEEP IGNORING THE THINGS YOU LEARNED! WHY YOU DO THIS, MAN?!?

I swear to god, I wish Flash would quit doing time travel stuff. But I can't. Because if I am suspecting things right, next season may be the season we get Bart Allen, now that Barry seems in the way to be marrying Iris for real.

Why can't I just have a Flash show where he fights the rogues and speedsters without using time travel? Why is it that time travel seems to have become the catch-all for flash plots? WHEN WILL WE GET THE ROGUES PROPERLY LIVING IN CENTRAL CITY AND ATTACKING THE FLASH AND DOING THE THINGS WE LOVE AND EXPECT FROM A SHOW BASED OFF A RED SPANDEX WEARING SPEEDSTER WITH A SCIENTIFIC MIND?!?

...I apologize. I assure you this episode was not bad. But I'm kinda... getting ticked off from what they're doing with Barry's characterization. And the show premise.

Hope to see you guys next time when... Barry travels back to the future. Again.

PS: What's with Kadabra saying he was Flash's foe? Isn't he from 64th century? Is this a plot hole? Also also, how DID he travel back in time and wasn't able to travel forward?

[norapond]

You come to finish me off, sweetheart?

Where: Warehouse outside London

Info:  Nora and the CIA have located where Geffory has Catie and Ruby held hostage. What ensues is not for the faint of heart.  (Though it takes about 5 paragraphs to actually get to the violence, there's a bit leading up to the actual fight.)

Mentioned: @catiejames @ruby-vandenburg @scarlettchalmers

Triggers:  Death, Murder, Dark Themes, Violence, Abuse, Torture, Gun, Shooting, 

     Nora had been called a hothead ever since she was a child, and no it wasn’t just because of her hair color. She, personally, blamed her parents (her mother really) for this. Having been trained since she could walk to fight and protect herself, anytime someone did something to upset her, instincts kicked in and she went to defend herself. As she aged this hothead-ness and need to protect expanded beyond just herself. It was simple at first, family. Then to those in the mob, next to her friends then, to those she fell in love with. 

     When Geffory took Catie and Ruby the hot-headed woman lost it. While Ruby was a friend, and one she promised to protect (as she had promised to protect every girl in the house) Catie was multiple steps beyond a friend. She was a kindred heart, a lover, a home and in Nora’s mind, a soulmate. So taking Catie? Well, that lit a fire so deep in Nora’s belly that it made it quite impossible to put out until she had the blonde back in her arms. 

     Three weeks had passed since their vanishing. Three weeks of madness, forced sleep (Dylan forced her out of the office a couple days and made her sleep), and lots...and lots of practice fighting with Scarlett and others Nora was feeling hopeless. 

     A break came when Scarlett brought Geffory's fake work to her attention. Buried deep within the mess was a note written in latin. One she had instantly recognized as a street address. Staring over the address she realized that the note was not a familiar handwriting. Sending it off to be analyzed they started surveillance on the location.  Itching to get in, to find them Nora started assembling a strike team. It consisted of five primary members and a fifteen member backup team since they were unsure of how many hostiles would be at the location. 

     When the OK was given to strike Nora was the first in, leading the team. Though normally frowned upon to be involved in such a personal issue her boss knew better and knew that no one on the team would be able to outmatch Nora's willingness to get the job done. 

     The warehouse was a dark damp place, uncomfortable in its stillness and the silence that seemed to be ever-present. Hesitant steps were the only sound beyond breathing one could hear without straining. The team had been split up; she and her partner Dylan (Scarlett in tow as she was learning but ordered to stay further behind in case of gunfire) entered from the south end, the two others from the north. Once in the teams split up further to be able to check every room they came across on opposite sides of the football field sized warehouse. 

    As they made their way deeper into the building Nora could hear the faint cries of women. All that mattered was getting them out; and as she raised her beretta as she opened the door a hand came down and smacked the gun, shooting a round into the cement below their feet. 

             The fight that ensued can be summed in one word. Violent. 

  Instinct kicked in for the trained assassin, her gun moved with her as an extension of her arm and flicked back up. Her arm quickly moving sideways to nail the person in the nose with the back of her gun held hand. Left hand quickly swinging her M4 into position as she let off a round into two oncoming men. Dropping them instantly. Now the man who had tried to knock her smaller gun from her hand was her main focus, he had managed to get ahold of her wrist and was trying to twist it and her into a position of lesser power. 

     Getting free of his grip didn't take much, no, instead she let her M4 fall back to her side pulled the cord that wrapped her wrist and created a thin, razor sharp wire to strangle with. Using it to block his blows to her head she distracted him with a quick fake out, kicked in his knee which started to drop him, in doing so she spun around wrapping the wire around his neck as she saw two other men rushing her. Quickly avoiding the hit of one, swiping her leg at his own and tripping him she caught the third man's arm with her elbow. 

     Turning her back to him and snatching his just blocked arm with her other hand, the one that still held the cord strangling the first man, and using her momentum she pulled the third man to the floor which in turn pulled the first down as well, finishing the job of killing him as he bleed out. Pulling her gun out she shot the second man in the legs keeping him on the ground, but not killing him, and doing the same with the third who she had knocked out. 

     Standing back up quickly she spotted two more men rushing to her, guns being drawn. Without a second of hesitation, she ran headfirst at them. Swinging her arm out she jumped wrapping the outstretched arm around one’s neck and again, using her momentum, she swung herself out and nailed the second guy in the chest with a quick kick. Once all three were on the ground, she pulled her Beretta out as she twisted herself around choking out the guy in her arm and ending up kneeling on his back, she shot the other in the head once before double checking that the one below her was dead as well. 

     But it was in this moment of checking that she was caught off guard that lackey snuck up on her and ended up actually getting a punch in. He slammed his fist into her face knocking her off the man she was kneeling on. Landing with a hard thump the agent growled and quickly kicked herself up. A series of blows were thrown by both. It was so fast most wouldn’t be able to really tell what was happening. But it ended with blood splatter on her face and a ringing in her ears as a bullet was shot through the man’s head. Glancing up she spotted Dylan giving her a quick nod before engaging in his own hand to hand fight. 

     Hearing footsteps rushing her she pulled her elbow in before quickly standing up and shooting it out a second later nailing a man in his stomach as he tried to head to Scarlett. The man collapsed with a gasp and loss of breath as she looked around for the voices that had drawn her into the room in the first place. Seeing a familiar face walking into the room she ran to it. 

     There was a room inside this room and Nora quickly made her way inside as the fight raged outside. As she pushed open the door she saw Geffory moving towards the two unconscious women chained to the wall. Anger bubbled up inside her and she rushed him, wrapping an arm around his waist and picking him up and then slamming him to to the ground. Growling he flipped himself over, pinning her to the ground and taking her Beretta, he straddled her lap.

          "You come to finish me off, sweetheart?” He asked pressing the hot steel against her temple. Green eyes stared back daggers and she kept her mouth shut as she tried to figure the best way to get out of his hold. “You know I thought about just killing them and then sending fingers or pictures but that took away from the fun I knew I’d have once I got you here.” He said a smirk on his lips. Anger that bubbled in her stomach at the condescending tone he took with her.

         “Oh, the fun? Really, most of your men are dead out there. Killed by me, what makes you think I won't kill you given the moment?” She asked. “What makes you think you’ll be able to kill me?”

         “You want to know why. You won't kill me till you get the why.” He said. “And that’s something I’ll never give up.” He said, chuckling. And it was that laugh, that split second he let loose that she took advantage of. Planting her feet and bumping her hips up caught him off guard, creating a space below her and allowing her to slip herself out from his grasp. Quickly she pulled a leg free and kicked him in the face tossing him away from her. She scrambled to him and pinned him down now. 

          “You sick little mother fucker.” She said punching him. “You thought you could take my friend, you thought you could take Catie from me and get away with it.” She continued the onslaught of punches. His face bleeding. He started to try and move his pinned arm to shoot her as he still held the gun. Twisting his wrist to face her. She raised her hand to punch him again and in doing so loosed her own grip on his pinned arm. 

     That was all it took for him to get his arm between the two of them and fire off a shot into her stomach. The scream that came from Nora echoed through the room as she collapsed onto him. Pinning the gun between their bodies. She let out a groan before shoving her hand between the two of them as she pinned her hand over the gun trying to force him away from it.

    It hurt, she could feel the bullet in her, the heat from it, the foreign feeling of a bullet buried deep. It hadn’t ripped through her, no it was lodged. And shoving her hand next to it wasn’t helping. But she knew she had to get that gun away from him less he aim just a bit higher or try and kill one of the two women. Pulling her M4 behind her she swung it out and ridge hand struck him on the side of the head. The crack that came from the sound of the metal hitting skull was sickening. He wasn’t dead. But he would be if he didnt get help soon. 

     Rolling off him she clenched her stomach momentarily before she started patting his pockets looking for the key to the chains. Fumbling around she finally found them and pulled herself to the two women and unlocked the restraints on their wrists before passing out from blood loss. 

[daleisgreat]

Lockdown 2007

Welcome to the third installment of my march through all of TNA/GFW/Impact Wrestling’s Lockdown PPVs that ran from 2005-2016. As I like to start these off, let’s see how Impact has evolved over the previous year. Going into April 2007, they now have WWE Hall of Famer and current RAW GM, Kurt Angle on its roster. Vince Russo is back on the TNA booking team for the first of many Lockdowns to come. We were in the midst of the ‘PCS’ Paparazzi Championship Series where Kevin Nash took several X-Division guys and put them through early-NXT-type challenges and made buddies with them all in the end in a fun set of sketches to look back on and see how they helped add some depth to previously vanilla X-Division stars. Some major teams have now split up with Team Canada and America’s Most Wanted no longer together. This is the final Lockdown during the ‘one-hour adrenaline rush’ era of Impact, as Spike made the show a two hour program in the proceeding fall. With that added hour they immediately debuted its ‘Knockouts’ division, and the seeds for that are seen here with more women on the roster compared to a year prior, and 2007 seeing the first women’s match in Lockdown history. This is one of the first TNA/Impact PPV’s to leave the Impact Zone in Orlando, and started a new trend for the promotion where they would try and have at least a few of their ‘marquee’ PPVs in bigger markets. This change in venue is immediately noticeable as Lockdown 2007 emanates from a much bigger venue in St. Louis, Missouri. The Impact Zone is a nice studio setting for the weekly TV show that TNA has made tremendous strides in making it look bigger than it actually is, but them bringing their PPVs to a legit arena gives them a more big time feel.

The pre-show match is included in the extras and features Vodoo Kin Mafia (AKA James Gang, AKA New Age Outlaws) taking on Christy Hemme’s mysterious team called Serontonin. I completely forgot about Serontonin until now, and looking back at them they remind me an awful lot of Sanity in NXT. Hemme’s first foray into managing did not go well as Serontonin were not long for the company, and Hemme would find a modicum of success managing the Rock ‘n Rave Infection, who I kid you not came down to the ring jamming out on Guitar Hero guitars! Voodoo Kin Mafia was Russo’s 4th-wall breaking makeover of the James Gang, whose only purpose seemed to intentionally point out the absurd booking of DX concurrently taking place in WWE. The match was a forgettable quick little bout on the preshow with Kip pinning Havik with The One and Only. Other extras on the DVD are a photo gallery that I took pics with my phone of for the blog here, thus the lack of quality (sorry….kind of) and a nice 12-minute montage of footage of TNA stars signing autographs at its Fan Fest the day before. I loved the longtime TNA PPV voiceover guy, Barry Scott! His voice brings an intangible grandeur to every event he introduces and he does it once again here promising this Lockdown will bring blood and terror! There was no blood in the 5-Man Xscape match opener for the X-Division title. Like past years, eliminations happen by pins and submissions until it is down to the last two where escape from cage determines the winner. This year’s contestants were Sonjay Dutt, Alex Shelley, Shark Boy, ‘Black Machismo’ Jay Lethal and defending champ, Chris Sabin. Kevin Nash and the PCS was responsible for Jay Lethal doing a Macho Man impression he kept up for a few years in TNA because it was damn good Macho Man impression and was responsible for the only good Ric Flair moment in his TNA run. The X-Division delivered in this match with a ton of killer spots that all connected. Shelley and Sabin teamed up for a hearty part of the match and gelled well together and I could see this match being the catalyst for them starting to team up shortly after this PPV and form the Motor City Machine Guns. Eventually it came down to Lethal and Sabin, and Sabin successfully defended the belt after Lethal got his foot stuck in the cage in a heck of an opener.

Former Team Canada members collide next when Robert Roode took on Petey Williams. This had the storyline of Williams trying to help out another former Team Canada member, Eric Young, who was tricked into signing paperwork to become Robert Roode’s property. Young tries to help Petey out, but it backfires and Roode lands the Payoff/Perfect Plex for the win. The first women’s Lockdown bout transpired next with Gail Kim taking on Jacquelyn/Miss Jackie Moore. Jackie is teaming with James Storm and both have an awesome theme that has not crossed my mind in awhile and was a hoot to relive. The two stepped up and had a killer match that started off with an outside brawl before slugging it out in the six sides of steel. Kim got the pin after a splash from the top of the cage. Good ‘ol Mr. Bob Backlund had a fun cup of coffee in TNA at this time. He would usually be seen in the background coming out of commercial behind the announcers doing the Harvard Step Test all show long for no apparent rhyme or reason. TNA! TNA! This regrettably stopped when he became involved in Senshi and Austin Starr’s feud and was the guest referee. In case you forgot, Austin Starr was TNA’s reimagining of Austin Aries as a modern day Jesse Ventura. Senshi got a sneaky roll-up win after he took advantage of Starr arguing with Backlund.

When I was eight I must have watched the Wrestlemania VII blindfold match on Colisseum Videotape between Rick Martel and Jake Roberts countless times. 8-year-old Dale absolutely ate it up! That is how you do a blindfold match! How you do not do a blindfold match is how TNA executed it here between former America’s Most Wanted teammates Chris Harris and James Storm. The ref loosely tied the masks on both men, and both masks repeatedly fell off several times throughout. ‘Someone Stop This’ was an audible chant throughout the bout. It mercifully concluded when Storm cheated and peaked from under the mask to see Harris’s position and superkicked him for the pin. I made it clear on this blog before my love for WWE’s OMG video series, and when WWE ultimately buys out TNA/Impact and gets their video library, this blindfold match is easily a top tier contender for TNA’s OMG/Worst of moments. It is worth noting Harris and Storm would rebound from this in a match of the year contender a few months later at Sacrifice 2007. The next match saw Christopher Daniels taking on Jerry Lynn. Daniels is trying some new gimmickry with his persona at this time by having spooky face paint around one of his eyes…..I do not believe this lasted long and I eagerly anticipate filling you all full of delicious, spicy, great tasting curry soon when Daniels debuts Curry Man in a year or two! The match was nothing too special, and eventually had a couple nice spots in the final moments before Daniels won with his Last Rites finisher. LAX and a wheelchaired-bounded Konnan cut a promo on Team 3D next. Konnan is essentially retired at this point as a lifetime of leg injuries caught up with him and he is now only managing LAX.

Compared to the previous two Lockdowns, it is a achievement and a half that the 2007 edition did not see bloodshed until the eight match on the card when Team 3D faced LAX in a electrified cage match. You read that right, whenever wrestlers would touch the cage, they would get shocked, complete with zany PA sound effects and flashing arena lights and gratuitous overselling from D-Von who got Border Tossed by Hernandez into the cage and bled buckets all over the mat. The crowd did not respond well to this gimmicked warfare and appropriately chanted ‘bullshit’ and ‘fire Russo’ in response. Poor Hernandez got around the electricity by climbing up the cage with special leather gloves and boots he conjured from out of nowhere, but his attempt at putting Team 3D away with a splash through a table backfired when D-Von rolled out of the way, and then Homicide stumbling into the 3D move spelled victory for Team 3D in another match worthy of making the elusive ‘Top 50 OMG TNA Moments’ list. Throughout this PPV between matches there were regular backstage updates from the members on both sides of the Lethal Lockdown main event. It was the usual bru-ha-ha of whether certain team members could be trusted. Jeff Jarrett was making his TNA return after a several month sabbatical and joined up on Kurt Angle’s side of heroes consisting of Rhino, Samoa Joe and Sting and they all were unsure of Jarrett’s loyalty. Christian Cage was on top of his game at this point in his TNA run as NWA World Champ and leader of his faction with Tomko and AJ Styles who was now rocking a full-out southern hick character. Joining them in Lethal Lockdown were Abyss, and TNA newcomer, ‘Big Poppa Pump’ Scott Steiner. If you though Steiner was unpredictable on the mic before, then checkout this montage past the 14 minute mark to see his best TNA lines where Scott truly was unfiltered.

I always liked the Lethal Lockdown matches, which had nearly the exact same rules as War Games, except the roof lowered after the 10th and final competitor entered and they left a gap at the top encouraging wrestlers to crawl on top of the roof which was filled with weapons. It kind of got congested with just one ring when more stars entered the fray, but eventually almost all made it to the outside once Rhino speared Tomko out of the cage in an impressive moment. Seeing Scotty Steiner bust out a Frankensteiner for the first time in ages also had me popping big. There was the requisite Pyramid Suplex spot towards the end of the match, and the most eye-opening spot featured Angle punching AJ off the top of the cage onto a bunch of awaiting wrestlers to catch him. Rhino is the second and surprisingly last combatant to bleed for the night, which is shockingly low compared to past years. The ending saw Jarrett truly being a good guy and helping out his team when he ka-bonged Abyss with a guitar filled with, what else, but tacks so Sting could get the pin. Minus a couple lulls in the middle where it seemed the guys were killing time waiting for the next person to come out, this was a crazy, yet fun match complete with the good kind of overbooking nonsense that I can sink my teeth into. Ambitious stunts, tack-filled weapon spots, and a good dose of creativity made this a great closer to the show. As stated in previous entries, the one hour Impact era of TNA is probably my favorite period in the promotion’s history because they managed to make use of a huge roster in an hour. Even when Vince Russo returned and started up his notorious booking decisions again, it was still a fun show to watch and TNA had to keep the show moving so no segment overstayed its welcome. There is some cringe-worthy booking from Russo in the forms of Storm/Harris and 3D/LAX matches that should be skipped over by all means. However, Lockdown 2007 still captures that great feeling of this era of TNA I dug at the time with several great feuds and matches that stepped up and delivered. Definitely go out of your way to check out the Xscape, Miss Jackie/Gail Kim and Lethal Lockdown matches that made this show. It will be interesting to see where TNA is at in 2008’s Lockdown with Russo fully invested into the booking and a Knockouts Division in place. Past Wrestling Blogs Best of WCW Clash of Champions Best of WCW Monday Nitro Volume 2 Best of WCW Monday Nitro Volume 3 Biggest Knuckleheads Bobby The Brain Heenan Daniel Bryan: Just Say Yes Yes Yes DDP: Positively Living Dusty Rhodes WWE Network Specials ECW Unreleased: Vol 1 ECW Unreleased: Vol 2 ECW Unreleased: Vol 3 For All Mankind Goldberg: The Ultimate Collection Its Good to Be the King: The Jerry Lawler Story The Kliq Rules Ladies and Gentlemen My Name is Paul Heyman Legends of Mid South Wrestling Macho Man: The Randy Savage Story Memphis Heat NXT Greatest Matches Vol 1 OMG Vol 2: Top 50 Incidents in WCW History OMG Vol 3: Top 50 Incidents in ECW History Owen: Hart of Gold RoH Supercard of Honor 2010-Present ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery Sting: Into the Light Straight to the Top: Money in the Bank Anthology Superstar Collection: Zach Ryder TNA Lockdown 2005-2016 Top 50 Superstars of All Time Tough Enough: Million Dollar Season True Giants Ultimate Fan Pack: Roman Reigns Ultimate Warrior: Always Believe War Games: WCWs Most Notorious Matches Warrior Week on WWE Network Wrestlemania 3: Championship Edition Wrestlemania 28-Present The Wrestler (2008) Wrestling Road Diaries Too Wrestling Road Diaries Three: Funny Equals Money Wrestlings Greatest Factions WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2015 WWE Network Original Specials Second Half 2015 WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2016 WWE Network Original Specials Second Half 2016 WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2017

[thehikingviking]

Boundary Peak & Montgomery Peak from Queen Canyon Trailhead

Memorial Weekend was approaching and I wanted to plan a family trip up a noteworthy peak. Believe it or not, I actually caught Asaka perusing Peakbagger one night. She was looking at state high points. She already has climbed the high points of California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington (in addition to the high points of Mexico and Japan), so it made perfect sense to climb the high point of Nevada next. I had put off this peak for no good reason, so now I finally had enough motivation to write this one down on my official calendar. Also in the nearby vicinity of Boundary Peak is Montgomery Peak, which I needed to climb as well. I studied the distance, elevation gain and difficulty of the two peaks and came to the conclusion that I would be able to carry the baby to the summit of Boundary Peak, but it would not be prudent to continue to Montgomery Peak with the baby. Since Asaka was mostly interested in the Nevada high point, we agreed that I could leave the baby with her on Boundary Peak, and she could get a head start and carry Leif down the mountain without me. The second major challenge was how to manage the long drive. Our solution was to break it up in segments. We planned to lay over one night at my family cabin in Sonora. Our second night we planned to stay at Benton Hot Springs, stopping along the way for lunch and a short hike. Our third night we planned to camp near the trailhead at Queen Canyon Mine after doing a few short hikes in the greater Benton area. For the sake of completion, I will include a short summary of these small side hikes in my trip report.

I sent out some feelers to some prospects that I guessed would be interested. Brett Marciasini, Scott King and Sean King took the bait. I then extended the invite to some of my non-hiking friends Brian and Zach. I refer to them as my non-hiking friends not because they don’t hike, but because our friendships started from working at Texas Instruments at one point in time. They have been projects that I have been sculpting over time in the effort to develop new hiking partners. This would be a good test for both of them, as I planned a hybrid dirt bag weekend. While I usually take care of most of the specifics with regards to preparation, this time I felt they were ready to take on more responsibility, such as managing their own food, lodging and transportation. This new freedom would allow me to focus more on my wife and baby.

After our first night in the cabin, we drove over Sonora Pass and then down Highway 395 to the Mobile Mart where we had lunch. There was an easy peak called Sagehen Peak referenced in Andy Zdon’s book “Desert Summits” that I wanted to climb. Good dirt roads took us to the Sagehen Saddle, located less than a half mile from the summit. We possibly could have driven up to the summit, but we were all a little restless from riding in the car and we wanted to get some fresh air. After a short walk up the sandy road, we found a rocky outcropping that required a short, easy scramble. It was easy enough for me to climb with the baby in my arms.

Off towards the east were Boundary Peak, Montgomery Peak and Mt Dubois. A late season storm struck the Whites a week prior, and there was a little more snow that I anticipated.

To the north was Mono Lake.

It was a nice little peak, and we rested awhile on top, but there was a slightly higher summit called Crooked Benchmark to our west. We started back down the road so I could get started on the bonus peak.

A twister swirled through the forest on this calm and sunny day.

Zach decided to join me for Crooked Benchmark while the others waited at the car. I didn’t even bother putting on my hiking shoes expecting an easy walk up, but we soon found ourselves bushwhacking through willows. Zach decided early on that this was not fun, and smartly made the decision to turn around. My obsessive compulsiveness had me push forward, but it was rather unpleasant. I kept thinking that the brush would abate, but it remained consistent almost all the way to the top. I found a register at the summit and I had a good view of the Sierra Nevada.

I didn’t want to retrace my steps back down to the car. I walked to the ridge and yelled down at the others to pick me up on the south side of the summit. I don't think they were able to understand me. I also sent a GPS pin to Brian, but received no response so was unsure if he got it. The southern slopes were much easier. I dealt with some sage brush scratching my shins, but this was a minor inconvenience. I walked out the road, and I eventually found the others parked where I left the pin. We then drove to Benton Hot Springs where I checked in for the evening. We barbecued on Zach’s grill and drank some beer.

I felt a little awkward since Zach and Brian would be left on their own to camp in the desert while Asaka, Leif and I had reservations at the historic inn. I booked the last available room and there was simply no other option. I drove them to a flat tract of BLM land and apologized. Zach responded by stating something along the lines of, “Are you kidding me? This area is incredibly beautiful and we are happy to stay here.”

It was beautiful as dusk descended upon the snow covered Boundary Peak and Montgomery Peak above. I no longer felt guilty. Leif was sleeping when I returned, so Asaka and I snuck out to enjoy the hot springs.

Montgomery Peak was visible from our tub.

The next morning we regrouped at Benton Hot Springs and awaited the arrival of Brett and the Kings. After a round of introductions, we followed Yellow Jacket Road south through the Benton Paiute Reservation. I turned left on a 4WD road I spotted from satellite view and the topo map. We planned to hike from here, but I decided to see how far I could drive. Scott was a little less zealous about driving up the road than I was, so he and Sean piled into Brett’s truck and they followed me. With a great deal of patience, we made it almost the whole way up the peak. We parked at a mine in between Blind Spring Hill and Diane Peak.

It took us all but five minutes to reach the to of Blind Spring Hill.

To the southwest was the Sierra Nevada.

To the west was Glass Mountain Ridge.

To the east were Montgomery Peak and Mt Dubois.

To the southeast was White Mountain.

While the peak was “just okay”, the summit register contents were a treat. Scraps went back to 1966.

The refurbished book was a standard Gordon Macleod and Barbara Lilley register, which is almost a standard for all the arcane desert peaks throughout the southwest.

One of the early signatures was from Andy Zdon, the author of “Desert Summits”. If was solely because of his book that I decided to climb this peak in the first place. 

In addition to Blind Spring Hill, there are six other named summits in close proximity along this ridge. These little peaklets were most likely named because of mining claims, and are hardly peaks at all. Since we had a full day ahead of us, we decided to only climb Diana Peak as a bonus peak, as this was less than a quarter mile from our car. 

The little bump was not much of a peak, but allowed us to pad the stats. 

We walked back down to the car and drove back to Benton. We were ahead of schedule so we decided to visit Trafton Mountain and Antelope Mountain just north of town. I led the way with my Jeep, but unknowingly made a big navigational error. There is a very good 2WD road that follows a powerline that crosses over the saddle between Trafton Mountain and Antelope mountain, but I somehow missed it. Instead, I led the group up a rarely driven 4WD road. It was incredibly rough and sketchy in parts. At one point we had to get out of our vehicles to move a fallen tree.

I was relieved to finally reach the better powerline road, but I was a little ashamed. We wasted a lot of time and mental energy dealing with that section of road. Asaka and Leif decided to skip Trafton Mountain and instead ate some lunch. We left them in the shade and started hiking towards the peak.

We hiked southwest up sandy and rocky slopes. It was a little too warm for my liking. Brian ran into a little issue when he kicked a cactus with his finger shoes. It took us about an hour to reach the summit.

We were again blessed with another Zdon signature in the register.

One the way down we found the remains of a deer.

Brett had a go at it, ripping the head clean from the still attached leg.

Brian was a little surprised to see us admire the carcass with such enthusiasm. I told him that dismantling dead animals is what white people do for fun.

We found sandy slopes on the way down. In the end it was a 2.6 mile outing.

Once reunited with Asaka and Leif, we got back in the car and followed a spur road all the way to the summit of Antelope Mountain. There were several structures on the summit. To the west was the salt flat called Antelope Lake.

To the south was Trafton Mountain.

I was mostly satisfied after 3 summits from Andy Zdon’s book. We drove back to the freeway following the good road this time. The difference was night and day. After filling up gas in Benton, we drove into Nevada, then took a right on Queen Mine Road. We spotted a Mustang in the canyon below Mustang Peak.

We stopped at Queen Mine where we decided to spend the night. We considered camping at the Queen Mine Trailhead, but settled on this location because it offered wind protection. Also, it was a really cool spot.

We spent the next few hours grilling Brett’s self-killed Bison, drinking beer and listening to music by the campfire. Sean and I thought about heading up Mustang Mountain, but in the end I decided against it, feeling a little worn out from earlier.

The next morning we drove the remaining mile up the road to the Queen Mine Trailhead. My Jeep and Scott's 4Runner had no problems with the road.

I told everyone not to wait for me, since I would be slow carrying the baby. Asaka picked up Leif and then left me! That message wasn’t meant for them.

I organized some last minute things then started off at 6:45am.

The trailhead is at 9,800 feet, which is pretty high. I spent the first mile or so focusing on breathing. Asaka thankfully waited for me and we hiked in unison.

It felt like a Martian landscape with the moon setting above the desolate terrain.

There was a really good trail climbing up the ridge. A lone deer watched me as I slowly lugged my payload uphill.

Even with my extra weight, I passed Brian early on. I hoped that this hike wasn’t too much for him. After a mile, Boundary Peak came into view.

T'was a lovely family day.

The trail stayed flat for 1.7 miles until Trail Canyon Saddle. Brett, Zach and the Kings were already way ahead of us and out of sight.

To my pleasant surprised, we ran into a herd of mustangs.

I think one of them was pregnant. There were several foals among the herd.

Brian paused for a while to photograph the ungulates.

We stopped for Leif’s breakfast along this flat portion. Maintaining his schedule is very important, even if it means falling further behind the group. He ate his blueberry oatmeal and banana without a care in the world. I was concerned since Brian hadn’t caught up to us by the time Leif finished his breakfast, but my priority was with my family. We continued all the way to Trail Canyon Saddle.

The fun part was now over for me. From here on out, I had to put in the work. The route continued steeply from here on out, but this was made easier since the trail remained underfoot. I finally spotted Brian down below and by all indications he was continuing. Across the saddle was Trail Canyon Saddle Peak. I hoped to tag this bonus peak on my return.

The false summit of Hosebag Peak was a little deceptive. It would have been worse if I didn’t expect. It was a little demoralizing to know that I still had to climb 1,000 feet from here, but it was still early and I was making good time.

Love.

The trail stays atop the ridge. The snow caused no impediment.

The ridgeline became more serrated and the trail eventually petered out. There are class 2 ways up from here, but if one is not paying attention, they can easily find themselves on class 3. 

I could spot Sean and Zach on the summit from below.

Asaka chose a lower route while I stayed closer to the top of the ridge. I felt like we were going slow, but then I spotted Brett and Scott not so far ahead of us.

A light trail reemerged higher up the mountain. I worried that Sean and Zach were waiting too long for me on top. I worried that Brian wouldn’t make the summit.

I had to cross some soft snow as I neared the top, but this was not a challenge. Montgomery Peak finally came into view beyond.

We reached the summit at 10:45am, four hours after we started out.

I unloaded the baby, inadvertently waking him in the process. Hey bud, welcome to the high point of Nevada.

Sean had been waiting on the summit for over an hour. He beat Zach by 20 minutes. Brett and Scott were only about 10 minutes ahead of Asaka and me. Brian was still nowhere to be found. I texted Brian and told him that he had a 1pm turn around time, and I told Scott to tell Brian to turn around if he had not made the summit by that time. I relieved myself of baby carrying duties and let Asaka take care of the rest. Brett, Sean, Zach and I turned our focus to Montgomery Peak. We dropped off the mountain and hiked towards the saddle where we crossed the California and Nevada border.

We had read a diverse set of claims from various trip reports and weren’t quite sure what to expect. In the end, the traverse was mostly class 2 with some easy class 3 and a few sections of loose rock.

We hiked mostly on top of the ridge, but in the places where the ridge became sharp, we stayed underneath the left side. The route finding was very easy and well placed cairns but and end to any doubts.

A lone climber passed us on the final stretch. Once on the summit we introduced ourselves and I learned that he went to my same climbing gym in San Jose. To the north were Mt Dubois and White Mountain.

To the southwest were Benton Point and the Sierra Nevada.

Way below us to the northwest were the diminutive Trafton Mountain and Antelope Mountain. Beyond that were the high peaks of Yosemite and a sliver of Mono Lake.

Way off to the north were Mt Grant and Walker Lake.

To the northeast were the Volcanic Hills and desert wasteland.

To the east ran Middle Creek Canyon.

The conditions couldn’t have been better. On our return, we decided to pick a route staying along the top of the ridge. Brett, who was a little nervous of the ridge traverse at first, mastered this knife edge section and proved to all that he is a master scrambler.

-Middle Creek

Our remaining group was gone by the time we reached Boundary Peak.

We took only a short break here before descending back down. Brett and I stopped to bag Hosebag Peak, which stood just a few minutes off the trail. Sean already did this on the way up, and he had his eyes set on the bonus peak Mustang Mountain on the other side of Queen Canyon Saddle. Zach didn't seem to care about any more bonus peaks and simply continued down.

From Hosebag Peak, we followed the trail down to Trail Canyon Saddle.

Brett and I then marched up barren slopes to the summit of our last bonus peak for the day.

The views from the summit were sublime.

From the summit, we continued down the ridgeline until we naturally intersected the trail.

I left Brett somewhere along this off trail section and began a powerwalk once I reached the trail. 

I soon caught up to Brain. I was thrilled to learn that he made the summit before his turn around time. He seemed to be having a great day.

I was surprised to catch Zach next. He was seriously feeling the altitude. I bade him farewell and continued ahead. Asaka and Scott just barely beat me back to the car. I was happy to see my wife and baby happy and in one piece. Apparently Leif spotted a herd of deer and pointed them out to the previously unaware Asaka and Scott.

Brian finished the hike at the same time that Sean came back from Mustang Peak, so timing was perfect. After some hydrating, we all hopped back in the cars and drove back out to Highway 6.

Once on pavement, we said goodbye to the Kings who had High Sierra plans later in the week. The rest drove back to Lee Vining for dinner. Asaka was tired and the baby was fussy, but things got better once we all got some dinner inside of our bellies.

After dinner, we found a dirtbag spot just outside of Bridgeport where we spent the night. We planned to climb South Sister in the Sweetwaters the following day before driving back home to the Bay Area.