Slollicum Peak: A Dangerous Supernatural Creature
What’s a Slollicum? I’m not really sure, but according to Bivouac, it’s a “dangerous supernatural creature of local mythology”. As much as we tried, we didn’t spot this undoubtedly interesting creature, although we saw some other fascinating life forms.
After meeting at the trailhead, we promptly began hiking up the wrong logging road. After too long, we realized the road we were on wasn’t going up, so it was unlikely to be the correct one. We later made two more logging road mistakes, which we are happy to blame on unclear instructions and bugs clouding our judgement. A few people suggested ditching the trip and going down for a swim in Harrison Lake instead, but they were swayed.
This trip kind of ballooned out of control. It was going to be just Maya and I and perhaps a friend, but somehow we ended up with eleven people and three cars. That’s what happens when friends of friends join, their roommates, and the friends of the roommates. But, being the VOC, we have a policy of “there’s always room for one more”.
After the logging road maze we finally reached the second part of the trail. On the way up, the views of Harrison Lake were outstanding, and the intensely turquoise water reminded me of Howe Sound. After some huffing and puffing, we arrived to the rocky summit where we had a good number of snacks shared around. We hung around for a short while, enjoying the views of Slollicum Lake, Mt. Baker, the Chehalis, and the Cheam Range. The problem with mountains, just like knowledge, is that the more of them you climb, the more you discover exist and you have to climb. Rich man’s problems?
