The four of us summited Cloud Peak, the highest mountain in the Bighorn National Forest, on an average August day in 2021. In our seventh year hiking together, seeing the view from 13,171 feet was something we were all eager to accomplish.

As planned, we set up camp at the “base” of Cloud and began preparations for the next day. We witnessed a handful of people passing by, seemingly on their way down from the summit. This got our attention because a couple of them walked past late in the evening. We knew we had about 3,000 feet in elevation gain, 4.5-5 miles to the top and a lot of boulder hopping ahead of us. We set our alarms for 6 a.m.

And… at 7:51 a.m. we took off. Our day packs primed, our bodies fueled, Wendy’s blisters doctored – we weren’t concerned. We crossed Paint Rock Creek, climbed up a small incline and caught the trail pretty quickly. The first part of the trek included a well-worn path and a nice walk into a beautiful valley. Quickly we could see the grassy ground give way to more and more rocks. The trail began playing hide-and-seek among the soft spots and the granite. Cresting a small hill, we had a view Julie recognized, having been this far before. We could clearly see a big bowl of granite we knew we were to head straight up. From this vantage point we could not see our ultimate destination as it was hidden from view by the giant ridge at the top of the bowl in front of us. We climbed/walked to the mouth of the bowl and decided to stash our hiking poles since their value diminishes when climbing up and over boulders.

Up we went. As we got closer to the far side of the bowl, we discovered a stream meandering down and were delighted to find a good water source where we stopped for a break. Facing us next was the climb up and over the steep ridge forming the back of the bowl.

We picked our way up, still catching glimpses of warn trail whenever the rocks gave way to softer ground. We saw several cairns, marking conflicting trails. Upon making it up that first long steep stretch, the view was… more of the same. We knew we were headed toward a spot known as “the narrows.” This spot has a shear drop off on the southeast side that includes a clear view of Bomber Mountain and an equally stark cliff on the northwest side that shows a nice view of Cloud Peak Lakes far below.

Once we made it to a spot right before the narrows we opted to take another break and prepare ourselves for the task ahead. The gift of looking down the valley from where we’d just come was magical.

We rocked the narrows. It was impossible to stay 100% in the middle, as huge boulders blocked the way and we had to pick and choose every foot placing. Kristen, with her tiny fear of heights, followed Julie’s lead closely and did fine. Julie reminded us all of the benefit of “three points of contact,” which was a welcomed pep talk. On the other side was Jenae opting for the edge and the best angle for photos… “Don’t bring Kristen this way…” she warned.

Once the narrows were behind us, the path to the top became a bit clearer. The mountain veered left, and we were unsure if what looked like the “top” was truly the summit. Like big stretches we had just climbed over, rocks covered the path ahead. Very little earth was visible anywhere. We began picking and choosing our way ahead, unsure exactly which path would be best but knowing we must keep forging ahead.

During the final push, the four of us spread out over the hillside. At various moments, each of us arrived at a dead end, unable to maneuver over an obstacle and forced to backtrack and chose a different route. We each hiked our own hike. When Wendy caught a glimpse of what she recognized as the giant cairn marking the summit, she hollered, put it in high gear taking flight and claimed the summit as her own.

We gathered at the summit at about 3 p.m., celebrating the accomplishment and memorializing it with photos from all angles.

We only decided to head back down to camp after taking note of the time. We hustled, talking very little in acknowledgement of our tired muscles and need to focus on footing. We finally arrived at camp as the sun disappeared behind the mountains around us, wolfed down Arby’s roast beef sandwiches, climbed into our tents and turned in – relishing in our accomplishment seven years in the making.