Our May 27, 2001 Trip to not-Spain

As many of you know, Christine and I were scheduled to fly to Barcelona on May 26. Our plane left precisely on time, but when the plane to Spain landed mainly in the rain, we were not on board. Never fear, we made up for that failing by taking a trip up scenic Hermana del Sur (South Sister), in the quaint region of not-Spain, in the state of Nevada*.

There is no maintained path up Hermana del Sur. Despite the presence of a crowded campground below (Memorial Day!), we saw noone else on the peak; the previous entries in the logbook were from Jan 6, 2001 and October 2000. To find our way, we followed a trail of mule droppings, up to the last stretch where the trail heads up a very steep talus slope, then ascends a brief class III pitch (apparently, mules don't like class III or steep talus). There are great similarities between this mountain and Barcelona. The primary language in Barcelona is Catalan; the primary language in this region of not-Spain is not-Catalan. I could go on and on, the similarities are so striking.

Here is the view south, down the class-III pitch, en route to the "true" western summit.

Christine takes a break between two bristlecone pines. These trees are probably thousands of years old-- yet they have less gray hair than I, and never complain about their knees.

From east peak: view south to Charleston Peak (Ciudad de Carlos). The north-facing slopes are still snow-covered*, yet it was 100F in nearby Las Vegas. If you look very closely, and you have the ability to refract light around corners and see through solid rock, Barcelona is visible in the far distance.

View north from east peak. Christine ponders Hermana del Norte. "If I look closely, I can just see the not-Pyrenees."

Panoramic view north over Mack's Peak. To the left above Mack's Peak, you can't really see the Paintbrush Tuff or the town of Mercury.

View of the Two Sisters from Charleston (the mountains, that is-- Clinton and Laetitia aren't related, that we know of).

The "trail" (mule droppings not visible at this scale).

Strangely enough, this is not the first time Christine and I have climbed a ten-thousand-foot peak called Hermana del Sur. Below are two shots from our September, 1983 trip up Hermana del Sur, in the state of Oregon. This "other" Sister is volcanic, and the top is a snow-filled crater. People in this northerly, colder region of not-Spain speak not-Basque or not-Galician.

View south; Bachelor Butte in distance at left. Christine and Ken Hobson** on the summit, with snow-filled crater to right. Bachelor Butte has a ski area; there is also a ski area to the south of the "other" Hermana del Sur, in Nevada*. Pretty spooky coincidence, huh?

View north toward Hermana del Midi and Hermana del Norte. Oregon has many glaciers; Nevada* has precisely one, on Wheeler Peak.

*Nevada means "snow-covered." Isn't that a spooky coincidence?

**Ken (in gray above) now teaches Forestry in New Zealand.