Climb Every Mountain
WARNING: You are entering a very long post ;>)
...or just one, once a year, especially if you're taking a 2 year old and a 3 month old. As the song says, we got by with a little help from our friends. The weather was absolutely perfect, cool and low humidity, as opposed to the prior year's sticky heat, which made such a difference, as did staying off that beautiful, but wicked Rainbow Falls trail. We took the shorter but steeper Alum Cave Trail, which was only about 5.5 miles.
We had a friend repeatedly offer to carry Samuel up to the top in the weeks prior to our hike. However, Mark thought we should "bear our own burdens" ;>) and had no intention of accepting. The plan was for Mark to carry Samuel in our back child carrier and I would carry Benjamin in our front carrier and the backpack on my back. I really had my doubts about whether I could do it, but decided to start up the trail (with the car keys), knowing I could always return to the car and go back to our luxurious other cabin (the one with electricity). However, dear sweet Mike was waiting for us at the trailhead and insisted he would carry Samuel. Thankfully (for me anyway ;>), Mark agreed, so Mark carried Ben and I carried the backpack. I really don't know whether I could have gotten to the top carrying Ben----if I had, it would have been much later and with much more pain and suffering during and afterwards ! My new hiking boots were great----kept all of my toenails for the first time in several years. And because of Mike, my shoulders and back were still functional ! This was my 10 year anniversary (although I missed a few years here and there)----the first time I went, Mark and I had been dating about 6 months, and it was something like his 7th time to do it. We did Rainbow Falls and I can still remember throwing down my walking stick somewhere near the top and declaring "I will NEVER do this again"! I wouldn't have dreamed then, that 10 years later, I'd still be doing it and we'd have two kids with us----never say never ! This was also Samuel's third year in a row!
Ben traveled like Samuel did two years ago, except Samuel was old enough to face outwards.....Ben didn't have quite as good a view ;>)
Samuel with BFF (at least in Mom's mind), Mike. This is when we stopped for lunch at the bluff. Mike and Samuel went on without us, as I needed to feed Ben. I worried whether Samuel would cry when he discovered we weren't around, but apparently "out of sight, out of mind", as evidenced in one of the pics further down.
Ben with his "Aunt Renita"
Ben with Mom at our break
We're getting closer.....somewhere around here, we met a man hiking up and he stopped to chat. We found out that this was his 9th trip up this summer, it was 8 weeks since he had broken a rib in a fall while climbing Machu Picchu in Peru, and he was 66 years old. He passed us on his way back down before we ever got to the top. He made us feel about 96 !
A view from near the top
The last little bit, Dad took Ben out of his carrier and carried him in his arms; you can see that made Ben happy.
......of course, this is ALSO how we found Mike !! He wasn't dead, just dead tired I think !
Relaxing around the stove
With friend Steve, who happily corrupted Samuel by RE-teaching him where his body parts were----elbows on the leg, knees on the arm, etc.
The menu never changes and it all comes out of cans, but it's one of the best meals we eat all year !
Ben with his "Uncle Norm"
Samuel's entertaining Ben on the bunk
Our happy camper
Getting ready to head back down----at least we're still smiling
We joked that Mike would sneak out of camp extra early the next morning before we got up, but he was still there after all ;>) We stayed together until the bluff and then he and Samuel left us and, once again, "out of sight, out of mind".
Ben will find this pic embarassing one day, won't he? Guess who had a blow-out diaper on the side of the mountain ? Wasn't Mark sweet to clean him up? (Each of the next 2 Sundays, Ben had blow-outs in my lap in "church" clothes, so I got paid back.) Of course, I had to tote the smelly stuff down in the backpack.
As we neared the bottom, Ben enjoyed another break from the carrier.
Reunited at the bottom. Samuel was busy eating Renita's Skittles, so I don't think he missed us at all !
Samuel snuggles with Mom while the band plays on.....
We went to eat one night at Apple Barn^----apparently I'm the only person in the Western Hemisphere who had never been ;>)
Ben with Mom's Aunt Patsy
Samuel had a great time playing with all the kids around.
...or just one, once a year, especially if you're taking a 2 year old and a 3 month old. As the song says, we got by with a little help from our friends. The weather was absolutely perfect, cool and low humidity, as opposed to the prior year's sticky heat, which made such a difference, as did staying off that beautiful, but wicked Rainbow Falls trail. We took the shorter but steeper Alum Cave Trail, which was only about 5.5 miles.
We had a friend repeatedly offer to carry Samuel up to the top in the weeks prior to our hike. However, Mark thought we should "bear our own burdens" ;>) and had no intention of accepting. The plan was for Mark to carry Samuel in our back child carrier and I would carry Benjamin in our front carrier and the backpack on my back. I really had my doubts about whether I could do it, but decided to start up the trail (with the car keys), knowing I could always return to the car and go back to our luxurious other cabin (the one with electricity). However, dear sweet Mike was waiting for us at the trailhead and insisted he would carry Samuel. Thankfully (for me anyway ;>), Mark agreed, so Mark carried Ben and I carried the backpack. I really don't know whether I could have gotten to the top carrying Ben----if I had, it would have been much later and with much more pain and suffering during and afterwards ! My new hiking boots were great----kept all of my toenails for the first time in several years. And because of Mike, my shoulders and back were still functional ! This was my 10 year anniversary (although I missed a few years here and there)----the first time I went, Mark and I had been dating about 6 months, and it was something like his 7th time to do it. We did Rainbow Falls and I can still remember throwing down my walking stick somewhere near the top and declaring "I will NEVER do this again"! I wouldn't have dreamed then, that 10 years later, I'd still be doing it and we'd have two kids with us----never say never ! This was also Samuel's third year in a row!
Ben traveled like Samuel did two years ago, except Samuel was old enough to face outwards.....Ben didn't have quite as good a view ;>) 
Samuel with BFF (at least in Mom's mind), Mike. This is when we stopped for lunch at the bluff. Mike and Samuel went on without us, as I needed to feed Ben. I worried whether Samuel would cry when he discovered we weren't around, but apparently "out of sight, out of mind", as evidenced in one of the pics further down. 
Ben with his "Aunt Renita" 
Ben with Mom at our break
We're getting closer.....somewhere around here, we met a man hiking up and he stopped to chat. We found out that this was his 9th trip up this summer, it was 8 weeks since he had broken a rib in a fall while climbing Machu Picchu in Peru, and he was 66 years old. He passed us on his way back down before we ever got to the top. He made us feel about 96 ! A view from near the top
The last little bit, Dad took Ben out of his carrier and carried him in his arms; you can see that made Ben happy.When we got to the top, this is what we found ^. Samuel was happily occupied with S & J and apparently had forgotten all about us !
......of course, this is ALSO how we found Mike !! He wasn't dead, just dead tired I think !
Relaxing around the stove
With friend Steve, who happily corrupted Samuel by RE-teaching him where his body parts were----elbows on the leg, knees on the arm, etc. 
The menu never changes and it all comes out of cans, but it's one of the best meals we eat all year !
Ben with his "Uncle Norm"
Samuel's entertaining Ben on the bunk
Our happy camper After supper, Mark and I loaded both kids up and hiked the 0.2 miles to see the sunset at Cliff Tops; of course, we got there just AFTER the sun went down. It was still beautiful with streaks of color in the sky and a crescent moon already up----one of the prettiest I've seen there and, naturally, our camera died just as we tried to take a pic ;>)
Later, standing at the water pump, brushing my teeth, and looking up to watch the sky, I lost my balance and landed on my rear. The "rearview" was great though----the sky was SO clear that night, with no electric lights around and very cold, so you could see what looked like billions of stars. We got through the rest of the night pretty uneventfully. I hope our cabinmate wasn't too disturbed by us or our kids. Ben got extra feedings to keep him from crying and Samuel got to sleep with Dad, so both kids were happy.
Getting ready to head back down----at least we're still smiling
We joked that Mike would sneak out of camp extra early the next morning before we got up, but he was still there after all ;>) We stayed together until the bluff and then he and Samuel left us and, once again, "out of sight, out of mind".
Ben will find this pic embarassing one day, won't he? Guess who had a blow-out diaper on the side of the mountain ? Wasn't Mark sweet to clean him up? (Each of the next 2 Sundays, Ben had blow-outs in my lap in "church" clothes, so I got paid back.) Of course, I had to tote the smelly stuff down in the backpack.
As we neared the bottom, Ben enjoyed another break from the carrier.
Reunited at the bottom. Samuel was busy eating Renita's Skittles, so I don't think he missed us at all ! When we got back to our "electrified" cabin, we all got baths/showers, had a good supper, and spent the evening playing games, being entertained, and just relaxing.
Samuel snuggles with Mom while the band plays on.....
Our kids did not lack for attention from all the friends in the group. It was nice to have all that extra help around ! Here are just some of our friends & kids:
We went to eat one night at Apple Barn^----apparently I'm the only person in the Western Hemisphere who had never been ;>)We also had an extra treat that weekend. Family from Alabama, who had never seen Ben in person, were vacationing in the Smokies, so after Sunday services, we were able to spend time with them. It was a really nice day to end a really nice trip !
Ben with Mom's Aunt Patsy
Samuel had a great time playing with all the kids around.
posted by Rhonda or Mark at
5:06 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home