Solo trip today – lots of time to stop and take photos and to explore as I wished.

My aim was Beattie – but I wanted to start a different way (basically in the Evening Ridge direction and then above the gully toward Hummingbird Pass).

This was fine and steeper than I expected. It also came out where I’d hoped. Then climbed above the pass and followed a well-laid track. Good, because the snow was deep and heavy.

And so I followed the track up and up and, at one point thought, “hmmm – this looks right but not quite right.”

And then a final push and there I was on top – but not on top of Beattie. What the heck? I explored a bit around the flat top and pretty quickly realized that the track had gone up North Beattie. I thought, fine, lovely – nicer view actually than the other Beattie, but let’s go up that one too. And so I began breaking trail. After a few minutes, I said to myself, “You know – North Beattie is a good destination after all.”

Yeah – the snow was deep and, did I mention, heavy?

And so a nice lunch on top at about 1 p.m., grateful for warmer temps and no wind. (remembering Lepsoe a couple of days previously).

And then down. On the way back I spotted the faint, snowed-in trail that wound up Beattie proper. But truthfully, pleased with the day. As I explore more and more of Whitewater, a good map is solidifying in my head. And there are few things I find more satisfying that mind-maps.

Came home – day 6 of no water. Simon almost died up at the reservoir today when a big spruce tree came down. So now an arborist arrives tomorrow before work can resume.

Grateful Simon is alive. Understanding why he feels the need to drink beer tonight. I sense a game of drunken Scrabble in the offing.