Dribbles, Nibbles & Scribbles: Spruce Mountain

The kids and I have been taking lots of hikes, "adventures," we sometimes call them; most people would probably call them short walks on flat surfaces in the woods. The boys have a walking limit of about 200ft and 205ft, respectively. I can usually convince SlimJim to keep walking for a mile or so, but at the 205 mark, he starts asking when he can go in the backpack. And with a three year old's concept of elapsed time, no matter how long I ask him to walk, he continues to ask, "now?" every 21 seconds. Our weekday hikes have to be short enough that I can have both boys walk most of the way, and take turns carrying them for a few minutes.

Today, last minute, we decided to get in the car and go for a real hike with Daddy. A hike up a mountain. Because there would be two grown ups to carry the boys.

The first hour of the hike was fantastic. The weather was perfect, the woods were beautiful, plenty of snack breaks, lots of nature to explore. The boys found a frog, we looked at mushrooms and fallen trees, and we enjoyed the walk.

The next hours were a bit more challenging. When we realized, after the first hour, that we hadn't even made it a quarter of the distance to the top, we knew we'd have to carry the boys. Mr.T. was insistent, for once, that he walk on his own. If he was going to be carried, it certainly wasn't going to be in the backpack meant for a one year old. Finally, we ended up with Mr.T. in the big kid pack, SlimJim in the baby pack, and we started climbing again. The girls did a great job- LittleL.G. bounding like a gazelle, and MiniM.E. keeping up a good pace. Though everyone was pretty tired by the end, we made it to the top.

This hike afforded no view unless you climbed the fire tower. The kids were super excited. It got to be too high for LittleL.G., but she was super brave and made it to the top. I was charged with Mr.T. and as I climbed the steep wooden steps with no risers behind him, my gut instinct as parent was to HOLD ON! Mr.T. had other ideas, and any time I even touched him he would throw a whole-body screaming fit right there on the steep narrow stairs. I might have had a mini panic attack as I pictured my youngest child slipping through the stair treads and falling completely off the fire tower. Looking back, I'm 99% sure the most he could have fallen was half a flight- still traumatizing, but not as terrifying, but at the time I was not thinking rationally. So Daddy had to rescue Mr.T. while I crawled like a baby to the top.

We made it. Daddy took a picture to prove it. Then I realized he was holding the baby, watching the toddler and taking photos, so once again, panic ensued.

Daddy brought the baby down. Carrying by the male parent is obviously more acceptable. The girls did a great job navigating down. I helped LittleL.G. and SlimJim. With kids willing to hold my hands, I finally calmed down and managed to get a couple photos to prove I climbed the tower.