I had the good fortune to climb Mount Temple before the term "scrambling" became vogue and before the hordes of people that are now seen on the mountain.

At the time I had just started hiking and backpacking. I had been to Sentinel Pass and thought It possible to hike up the Mount Temple from it. I decided to climb it one day after meeting two hikers who were willing to join me. That night, we unrolled our sleeping bags on picnics tables and slept under the stars.

I hadn't climb a mountain before, so I knew nothing of climbing or route-finding. I didn't have a map nor could I even read one. I didn't know what an ice axe was nor did I understand the importance of taking extra food and extra clothing. I just assumed we could hike up it. From Morraine Lake I saw no evidence of snow, nor would we encounter any.

The next morning I led my two new hiking buddies to Sentinel Pass. From the pass we followed a faint trail, but I don't recall it lasting long. When we reached a cliff band one guy turned back but two of us pushed on.

The trip took much longer than I expected and we ran out of food. Near the summit, I felt strangely winded and stopped often to catch my breath. I reproached myself for being out of shape: it didn't occur to me that we had climbed so high that the air was thin!

When we reached the summit we found only two others there, the only people we would see on the entire trip. One of them took pity on me and gave me some food which I wolfed down. I didn't have a camera but it was a clear day and I remember being able to see for miles in all directions. I was amazed to see so many peaks.

Even though I found the climb exhilarating, I didn't attempt another mountain for another tweny years.