terence.htm

Up & Over Davis Peak
~ Into Terence Lake ~

another Martin Jensen & Jamie Van Etten Story:
Jamie Van Etten, Martin Jensen and I set out in Jamie's "beat up" 4x4 truck over Snoqualmie Pass to the Cle Elum River, drove up the river road to our jump off point, where we parked the truck, got our backpacks on and then Jamie discovered he'd forgot his boots, lucky that Martin had an extra pair of mtn. tennis shoes Jamie borrowed to use. Through the woods to the river where we waded it, damn cold it was! We then climbed up to 5,900' Opal Lake...I led. However, Jamie and Martin argued alot about everything under the sun enroute. I paid no attention most of the time and stayed about 10-20 feet above them, and after a few hours we popped out right at little beautiful Opal Lake. We proceeded onto Moonshine Lake and some tarns up on Davis Mtn. then climbed up to the top of the ridge linewhere we got the first view into Terence Lake...thousands of feet below. Down through the rockslides and a few chutes we messed until we stood on the shores of the lake. We camped at the inlet. Both Jamie and Martin used their rafts for fishing and caught some real nice fat rainbows 16-18 inches. I fly fished from shore with onlyminimal results. As evening neared and we set up Martin's 2-man tent which he and I share, Jamie suits up in a walk-about sleeping bag, complete with pants. He sleeps near the fire to keep warm and is up most of the night trying to stay warm, during the day it only reaches about 50 degrees...the night temp dips to say the least. But Jamie is tough as nails and survives.
We pack out the next day after more fishing. Martin wants me to carry out his dead fish he killed, since I got to share his tent, I say, "Nope, you killed them, you pack them out."Back up the mountain we climbed, steeper than the back side of God's head I say! And then down the mountain we trek, Jamie and Martin still argue about this and that, mostly about the route. I tell them to just follow me, but off they go down into a gully filled with vine maple and slide alder. Meanwhile, I yell at them a few times that it isn't the way to go, Jamie is leading. I stay up on the rib and get to the river, cross it and wait. No Jamie and Martin showed up and as time passed, I went onto the truck, waited there. Then went back to the river and still no Jamie or Martin. Eventually after what seemed hours, they both poke there heads through the brush, both still arguing. "Where the Hell you guys been," I stated. "I been waiting for ya forever."
Before long we were on the way back towards Seattle, they continued to argue most of the way, too. And I guess it's why I never again went together with the both of them into the mountains or fishing, only separtely. And even though Jamie's route finding abilities weren't exactly the best, he managed to get where he wanted to go through his pure-blunt will. His unique character, tenacity, mental strength, and his big heart isn't found too often in a lot of people these days, and that is probably what I will remember the most about him and Martin as well...

Aug. 10-11th, 1982

KJM

all rights reserved