Cuban Cigars

Hiking upon the Columbia Ice Fields with Cuban Cigars was a real treat for Ken and I.



Finally, there was nothing but ice before and behind us, and sheer rock cliffs on both sides. We had made it to the Columbia Icefield. Dave set up his tripod, and took the picture that hangs on my wall. He and I standing on a field of ice smoking our Cuban cigars (I relit mine for the picture).
We stayed there for a while, to revel in the stark beauty of the place and so Dave could get his bearings back. The exertion, the altitude, and the cigar had left him rather light headed and a little nauseous. The look on the faces of those people at the bottom was priceless. The people there when we went up were gone and the people at the bottom couldn’t see us when they got there. As they looked up, they saw the two of us emerging from the light fog and misty rain, walking down a glacier. All conversation slowly ground to a halt as more and more people noticed us.
By the time we got back on solid ground, the loudest sound was our footsteps. We walked right off the ice and back down the trail without breaking stride. Heads turned with puzzled expressions to watch us as if we had come out of the ice instead of off it. We took off a few layers of clothes when we got back to the truck and started the drive south. By the time we got on the road it was getting dark and we were ready for a meal and a good night’s rest.