At some point in our hike up the trail, Jerry pointed and said, “That’s where we’re going.”
I followed his gaze.
There were alpine meadows. There was a white waterfall cascading down a bare cliff face and disappearing behind some hills. There were trees and shrubs clinging to the mountainside up to the tree line. Above that were clouds blowing over snow-clad peaks. And there… there just where his gaze seemed to fall, somewhere between the meadows and the utmost peaks, there was a naked cliff, and I knew that was the place they were taking us to.
“Up there!?” I shrieked.
I am positive that with that exclamation my standing descended several notches in the esteem of Jerry and Gabrielle that day. Still, I would like to give you a sense of it.
Consider as evidence the following photo.
You see it, don’t you? The alpine hut sitting above the cliff? Of course you don’t. Because you can’t, just as I couldn’t.
How about if we zoom in a bit. Does this help? Look for the hut at the peak of that Half-Dome-like rock face in the middle of the picture.
Doesn’t help any, does it? Right. So, let’s zoom in a bit more.
Certainly you can see it now. No? Zoom…
Maybe you can see the flagpole right in the center. (I couldn’t.)
One final zoom…
And now there you can see it: a brown hut beside some white flagpoles sitting on top of a little outcropping. You can imagine my shock at the prospect of climbing up that precipice of a front yard, can you not?
Although I do not deny my lame exclamation when Jerry showed us where we would be spending the night, I just thought that I’d provide a bit of context for my lameness.