The five of us geared up for our annual Fourth of July backing trip knowing that it would be a difficult weekend. For the first time we would be going off trail for a section of our journey. We felt confident in Matt's leadership since he put in hours of preparation studying the route and getting advice from hikers who had gone before us. He had even printed out pictures of when we'd be off trail just to be reassured that we were going in the right direction. However, it goes to show that no matter how prepared you are, once on the mountain circumstances can change in an instant. Our thoughtfully planned adventure would turn into a precarious afternoon caught in a white out on the side of Discovery Pinnacle, off trail with no flat land in sight. Laura, Gaven, Joe, Matt and I woke up on our second day of the hike ready to go over Crabtree Pass, be off trail to hike the dreaded sand hill to make it up and over Discovery Pinnacle. Then meet up again with the