The Green Flash

I have seen this phenomenon twice. Different than the coveted green flash associated with sun setting over the ocean, I've only seen this flash while being in very remote areas on very clear nights.  The first time I witnessed it was while hiking back to camp while elk hunting.  We had hunted until sunset and then began the long hike back on an old logging road. My father, sister and I had been hiking for quite some time and were remarking on the brightness of the stars on this cold crisp night.  All of a sudden the was a bright green flash that lit up the entire area around us.  It happened only for a split second but all three of us saw it and were left completely speechless.

We were at loss as to what it possibly could have been.  There were no clouds for as far as the eye could see, no airplanes, helicopters, or anything else capable of producing light.  We continued on still in slight disbelief over what had just happened but joked that maybe this just a giant camera flash coming from a satellite and was Google's method of getting its images for the satellite view on Google Maps. A little further down the road it happened again. Not as big, but sill a definite split second flash that lit up the area. Because of the brightness of the stars we spent much our time hiking back with our faces to the sky and there were no meteors. Just a perfectly calm sky then a split second FLASH that each of us saw every time it happened.  It continued to happen on our way back but gradually came to a stop. We discussed it to great length but never were able to come up with a satisfactory answer.

Fast forward 3 or so years to a backpacking trip to Elephant's Perch.  We had had a long day of hiking and were laying in our tent discussing the day's adventures and our plans for the next day. Eventually we decided to call it a night and put off all further discussion until the morning.  While Sam and Daniel made efforts to fall asleep however, I lay looking up at the stars that were so bright and easy to see because of our remote location.  I had not thought about the green flash for quite some time but as I lay looking up at the stars I saw it. Not nearly as bright as what I had experience with my dad and sister 3 years prior, but it was a definite flash that lit up the entire sky from horizon to horizon. I quickly told Sam and Daniel what I had seen and told them of what had happened 3 years earlier. I told them to stay awake and watch for it again with me, to which they were less than enthusiastic about doing. However, I convinced them to watch for at least a little while and after a few minutes of waiting there was a FLASH which the three of us saw together.  The next hour was spent watching the flash that came at irregular intervals, and although we discussed it for quite some time no plausible explanation was determined.

We have researched it but have not even found mention of anyone else ever seeing this phenomenon. If anyone has seen this happen or has an explanation they would like to propose, feel free to comment below. I have not seen it happen since Elephant's Perch but am thankful that I have been able to witness it twice. It truly was a remarkable experience.

Mt. Idaho

Location: Lost River Range, ID
Date: September, 2010
Expedition Members: Jeff, Barak, Taylor, Micah and Levi Watson; Katie, Laura, and Bekah Cox, Matthew Liscinski
Goal: To summit the peak of Mt. Idaho

A view from the slopes of Mt. Idaho

This ended up being a last minute trip to bag a peak before getting into the school year. Mt Idaho ended up being a good choice because it had close access from the road but was still seldom climbed because of its proximity to Mt Borah, Idaho's tallest peak.  Mt Idaho is also one of Idaho's 9 peaks over 12,000' and it's jagged faces and rugged ridges made for a exciting, hard day of mountaineering.


We camped at the Borah trailhead the night we drove down, and in the morning proceeded to drive down the road to our access point.  Although there was not much of a visible trail the first part of the hike was easy going, mostly following a dried stream bed with a few short climbs.  As we got on the more barren slopes of the peak however it quickly became steep. One of the most rewarding features of climbing in the Lost River Range is the rugged faces of all the peaks surrounding us. While we had chosen the summit of Mt. Idaho as our trophy of the day we would have been no less happy to have been climbing any of the peaks that surrounded us.

After a long time spent gaining elevation on the steep rocky slopes we began traversing the few exposed ridges that stood between us and the final climb to the summit.  The ridges were made difficult because of the exposure and loose rock, but the crossing was made successfully without much difficulty and we were now were ready for the final push to the top.


 The summit was made without incident after a long climb, and we were rewarded with spectacular views of the valley below as well as the surrounding peaks. The Lost River Range contains 7 of the 9 Idaho peaks over 12,000', putting us in some very good company.

Borah Peak from Mt. Idaho

After spending some time at the top taking pictures and absorbing the surrounding view we made our descent. The climb had taken longer than we had originally planned for so we decided to try what looked like a faster route back. Although the new return route was indeed a shorter distance, it involved coming down the very steep face of Mt. Idaho in what had now become very low light conditions.  We determined it still looked doable however and continued on. 

The Descent

About a quarter of the way down we quickly began realizing that this route had been a mistake. It was now dark, and although equipped with flashlights and blessed with the light of a full moon the descent of a steep rocky face in the dark is a much different event than doing so in the daylight. The exposed face of the mountain was made worse by the darkness that it led into, and the route down required climbing down multiple short sections of vertical face.  The slow and tedious route involved lots of scouting ahead and with our lack of climbing gear required very careful foot and hand placement but together we were able to get off the cliff face and back into the much appreciated shale field at the bottom of the peak.  

There was still a long hike back to the truck, but it felt good to be back on solid ground again. The path back to the truck was a little more difficult since it was not the way we had come in and was in the dark, but we successfully made it back and were very thankful for the ending to a long and tiring day.

  

The whole trip had a theme of flying by the seat of our pants, which is one of the reasons it was so enjoyable.  The decision to to climb the peak was last minute and our route to the top was whatever looked doable.  The descent was more than we should have done with our lack of equipment, but we made it out safely and are blessed now with memories and stories to share.

View from the top

Praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD from the heavens,

praise Him in the heights above.

Praise Him, all his angels,

praise Him, all his heavenly hosts.

Praise Him, sun and moon,

praise Him, all you shining stars.

Praise Him, you highest heavens

and you waters above the skies.

Let them praise the name of the LORD,

for He commanded and they were created.

Psalm 148:1-5

Elephant's Perch

Location: Sawtooth National Forrest, ID
Date: June, 2010
Expedition Members: Barak Watson, Sam Rust, Daniel Patchin
Goal: Summit the Elephant's Perch

This is typically an easy trip. A well marked trail leads to the lake at the base of Elephant's Perch, and there is a non technical route of the backside of the Perch that allows you to summit without making the strenuous rock climb up the face.

Although we did the easy route up the backside of Elephant's Perch we did not follow the well marked trail to get into the lake.  We instead hiked a drainage that looked inviting and once again, this method of getting of the beaten trail made our trip all the more enjoyable.

After crossing creek that was overflowing due to the early snow melt we began our ascent of the steep drainage.  There was still deep snow in parts of the drainage which made the hike more interesting and in parts much more difficult.  We got to the lake however without incident, except for one 10 ft drop that Sam slid off but fortunately without injury.

We gave ourselves a day of exploring the area before making the climb on the following day. The area around Elephant's Perch is truly remarkable, especially with spring runoff contributing to the many waterfalls.

We made the climb the next morning as planned. Climbing up the backside was made difficult only by the snow which made the normally sturdy rock into a slippery slide right over the edge if a foot was misplaced.

The views were incredible from the top as can be expected. The Sawtooths are beautiful country and we were thankful to be able to experience them in such a way.

We chose to follow the typical route out and made it back in less than 3 hours as opposed to hour original 8 that it took getting in.


All photo cred's go to the talented Daniel Patchin, you can see more of his amazing work here.

The General

Location: Frank Church Wilderness of No Return
Date: August, 2009
Expedition Members: Daniel Patchin, Sam Rust, Barak Watson
Goal: Use a possibly unattempted route to get into Mystery Lake and summit The General.


Sam had suggested the area due to wanting to scout for elk, and the rugged terrain and peaks proved a worthwhile adventure. While the area is remote, there is not much technical climbing involved... normally.

Since our goal was to travel the road less traveled (for that matter, let's just get rid of the road altogether) We were not overly concerned with planning a route, instead letting our direction be determined by whichever peak or ledge of rocks appeared most appealing at the moment.  This served as consistent method of making our trip more interesting, culminating with the descent into Mystery Lake.

The descent proved to be more technical than we had gear for, but we more than made up for it in effort and a few blind leaps of faith accompanied by lots of prayer.  We made it down without incident and were more than happy to set up camp.

We successfully made the summit of The General as well as the summit of Mt. Jordan. It was a long hike out but the trip was well worth it.

The General

Welcome

Carpe Diem Expeditions is a group of fellow adventurers that seek to live life to the fullest while seeing and experiencing God's incredible creation as few get opportunity to do. I have chosen to document some of our trips with the hope that others will be able to enjoy reading about them.  As things get moving posts will become more and more frequent; but until then, enjoy some brief recaps of our previous adventures.