17/07/2023 - Moose Mountain Sunrise

 Moose Mountain Sunrise Hike

Heading out later in the day Sunday (around 5pm) the plan was to hike with our gear to somewhere close to the base of the false summit of Moose, set up camp, and then proceed to the summit and return to our camp set up already. The trail fam for the day would be myself, my brother Ben, Dad, Dad's friend Mike and Mike's son Olly - quite an extended fam as compared to usual. The first part of Moose is always pretty mellow; steep double track covered in fallen pine needles. The first part I always find creates the best conversations because everyone is still relatively not out of breath. Today the conversation for Ben and I was how incredibly lucky we are to be able to have the mountains as part of our backyard. The fact that we can both work for the day, come home from work and go sleep on top of a mountain is something that most people do not have the opportunity to do. The only downside of having the mountains as a part of your identity is that it hard to see yourself ever being away from them for long periods of time. Immersed in conversation we arrived to the false summit in what felt like a short amount of time. After some discussion it was settled that we would set up camp near a patch of trees a little ways down from the summit as it had decently flat spots and it was sheltered from the wind. 

Deliberation About Where to Camp

The sleeping situation was Dad in the one man, Ben and I in the two man and Mike and Olly in the three man. We figured Mike and Olly should get the three man as they both come in around 6'6". After camp was set up it was time to make our final push to the summit to watch the sunset before returning to camp. As has been the case every time I have done Moose, we encountered some wind on the false summit and towards the actual summit push, but it was not too bad. When we reached the summit Ben found a pretty good spot to hang out that was surprisingly relatively free of wind. The successful summit of the whole trail fam called for some refreshments. Our "meal" consisted of beer, gummy bears, banana chips and peperoni sticks. Dad, Mike and I went with the Jasper Brewing Company "Trail Session IPA", Ben went with a Stella Artois and Olly opted for a Magners Cider. It was a very nice moment to sit on the summit and relax and watch the sun setting over the Rockies. The sky entranced us with its pink and orange hue which became more and more majestic as the sun got lower. 

Boys on top

As the sun fully retreated behind the mountains we figured it would be a good idea to get back to camp while there was still some light. After descending we rolled into camp around 11pm and Dad fired up the stove to make some hot chocolate for Olly and Ben. After hanging out for a little longer we figured it was time to call it a night and hit the hay before what would surely be an amazing morning. The wake up call came around 5am and I'm glad it did because the sun was already fairly high in the sky. We were greeted with yet another amazing show by the sun, this time coming from the East. There is something very appealing about waking up after having spent the night on a mountain, to the warm glow of the sun heating up your bones and the thought that you're above most everyone else you know. The addition of some camp stove coffee from Dad and my morning was complete. We all sat in the grass drinking our warm drinks and enjoying the show the sun was putting on for us. Another beautiful part about this particular morning was the fact that the view we were looking at was cloaked in fog in some places, adding to the beauty of mother nature. After about forty-five minutes we made the call to pack up camp and retreat down the mountain. Yet another successful journey into the mountains that made me fall even more in love with them. Onto the next of what I hope is many more experiences this summer...