What a spectacularly satisfying, bliss and beauty filled day!

I should probably leave it at that and let the photos tell the story. But no – I am going to jabber on for a bit.

I took the Trade Dollar Trail to Reco (Hollywood) ridge. I got lucky in that I was able to hitch a ride from Sandon to Cody! So then, up and up. I ran into Cody Rob on the way back (on the road) and we chatted for a while about the trail. He had cleaned up a ton of it but we also talked about the gnarly bits. After this past winter, some of those bits have graduated from gnarly to sketchy. The exposure has become, shall we say, “interesting.”

He seems pretty game to do some work on those bits.

But no matter, I got up to the ridge, put on my gaiters and headed for Baby Texas. What the hell is Baby Texas? you may well ask.

Well, there’s that steep meadow you freelance up before you get to the ridge that goes to the first Texas Peak. And because it has no name, I decided to call it Baby Texas. I mentioned this to Cody Rob who thought it was a perfect name. So there – it has been christened.

At any rate, up through snow and over fresh meadow and through a massive field of anemones and glacier lilies and topped out! Awesome!

There was no question of even attempting Texas. The ridge was one long knife-edge cornice.

So – lunch in the meadow – and also keeping an ear tuned to bears because this is a grizzly meadow.

And then back down.

And, in a word, it was a perfect day.