Castle Rock Journal

December 2002 
(Written February 28, 2003)
The Dream
  Yep, the dream that started it all.  I remember back before Anne and I ever went 
backpacking.  We would look out from our Grandparents' deck in Wenatchee and just stare 
at it.  I have a piece of paper in a notebook somewhere that says, "Castle Rock '96".  I 
look back and think, "geez, was it really that long ago?"  I've even had dreams about 
reaching the summit.  Funny how dreams sometimes end up being so close to reality -- the 
mountain looks much the same as in my dream (except maybe without the car-sized amethyst 
and ruby formations, and the ceiling that crowded my head at the top).  It's amazing how 
so small a "mountain" can have such an effect on a person.  After all, it really is just 
a hill, even in comparison with the surrounding hills.  
  Well, the hike never did happen back in '96.  My parents decided that they didn't want 
us to kill ourselves, so they didn't allow us to climb it.  Our lust for freedom and the 
outdoors led us to other more dangerous and exciting destinations over the years.  Yet on 
Christmas day a few years ago, when we thought we couldn't stand it any longer, Anne and 
I asked if we could go and got the expected "no" answer.  So we climbed a different 
mountain in the area instead.  Anne and I even surprised ourselves (ok, so I was 
surprised) and got back a few minutes under the two hours we told them we'd be gone for.
The only thing we got repremanded for was that we took my dog Shadow with us, who was
about 9 at the time and slept hard for a long time after we got back.
The Completion
  This last year (2002), about a month or so before Anne and Ben were to visit from 
Georgia for Christmas, Anne text messaged me with, "This is our year 2 climb Castle 
Rock."  The message, of course, was received with enthusiasm.  Nothing could stop us this 
year!
  It took us some quick planning to find the right day to climb it.  The day we went I 
was the last one to wake up.  Anne, Ben, and Kira were like, "Alicia!  Get up!  Help us 
clean the house real quick so we can get up to Castle Rock before your parents get back 
from shopping and talk us out of it!"  Lol, lemme tell ya, there's a wake up call!  It 
started snowing lightly just as I pulled up into the gas station by my parent's house.  
At that time it was, "What snow?  I don't see any snow, do you?  Nope, didn't think so.
Hey -- I get to pump my own gas!!"  Well, if my memory is correct, Ben actually pumped 
the gas for me, and it coulda turned into a blizzard out there and I doubt we would have
turned around.  
  The hike itself was pretty short; we spent maybe an hour and a half on the mountain, 
including time spent hanging out at the summit and watching the deer.  Upon reaching our 
point of attack, we spent a minute or so deciding which would be the best way up (as if 
we hadn't ever thought about it before).  After a few minutes of walking we found a good
trail.  The snow continued to fall, though there was no accumulation in the valley.  
There was a noticable dusting of powder partway up the surrounding mountains, but it
didn't prove to be a problem.
  The last push to the summit was truely unique.  The summit is pretty rocky (thus the 
name Castle Rock) and the last push is pretty steep.  As we looked up we noticed many
heads poking out over the top.  A herd of more than ten
deer had made the summit a place to stop, and our presence had caught their
attention.  They didn't seem to want to give up their perch, so what'd we do?  We let Ben 
go first, of course!  In not too long we got a little too close for comfort, and the deer
retreated around the north side of the mountain, and around west toward the neighboring 
mountain.
  It seems a little strange to me, being that I've dreamed about it for so long, but I 
don't remember all that much about our time at the summit.  I remember taking pictures of 
the deer, the rocks and views, and of each other.  I picked up several pieces of broken 
glass and a water bottle to carry out.  Maybe there's not all that much else to
remember.  Maybe what's important is that we actually finally did it!
The Aftermath
  I remember that my dad called me on my cell phone shortly after I had left my pack 
further down the hill to take pictures.  On our way back down, I called him back and 
stated, "Yep, we're just hiking down from Castle Rock now.  You two back from shopping 
yet?"  "Not yet.  You've already gone up?" "Yep, it's beautiful up here!  We'll tell you 
all about it when we get back."
  Although it's a pretty short hike, and definitely close to the city (the cell phone 
worked and we parked the car across the street from a housing development)....I don't 
know how to explain it...I think it's something Anne and I have dreamed about for so long 
that it's kind of strange now that we've actually done it.  A lot of things in life are 
that way, I've noticed.  For example, I remember being in second grade and 
thinking, "Wow!  That will be so cool to be in high school and have lockers and go from 
class to class and be able to DRIVE everywhere!"  A few years later I began 
thinking, "Wow!  That will be so cool to be 18 and go to college and live in the dorms 
and get to take whatever types of classes I want to!"  And now -- well, my LITTLE sister
turns 16 today!  It's funny how life changes.
  My dreams too have changed a little over the years.  I still often dream about the
mountains I would like to summit and the trails I'd like to explore.  There was the
infamous 1979 Quarter Dream, and the reoccuring Natural-Disaster-In-Every-City-In-Which-I-
Do-Currently-Or-Will-Live-At-In-The-Future Dreams.  I think my dreams of climbing Castle 
Rock were birthed out of a curiosity about the unknown and a need for freedom, as were my
dreams of Chiwaukum and other places.  There will always be a hunger inside me that seeks
to know what's on the other side of that ridge (a.k.a. Cup Lake, hehe).  It's something I 
hope I will never lose, no matter how much my dreams and circumstances change.