After a few pics, we headed back down to don
our packs and enjoy a treat from Mercier, a fried pie!
It was 1:30pm before we finally headed north.
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Along the way,
we adjusted packs, encouraged the young ones to keep moving despite their
interest in stopping to point out items like sticks and rocks, before settling
in to an easy pace with Nathaniel (Racer) moving to the front. I
mostly saw his back all the way to Woody.
Our goal that night was Hawk Shelter,
but our back up was Three Forks if it proved too difficult for them. It didn’t
take long to see that Gabe was now Popeye- strong and sure- but also always a
gentleman. Popeye would make sure to stop to hold out a hand to his Mamere and
Nana when crossing a creek or needing help in any way. We made it to Three
Forks by 3:30pm and had a good snack break.
All the kids carried their own
snacks for the weekend, and it amazed me how much they could chow down at any
moment! At 4 o’clock, we crossed and headed toward Hickory Flats with a nice
spring in our step. Asher (Mini-Chuck) by now needed a little help carrying his
10lb pack, first me, then Ray (The Builder).
After Micaela (Book Worm but this changed over the weekend!) began
asking how much further to camp, Mini-Chuck replied, ‘Any mile now’. And that
became our mantra for the weekend. J
Climbing Hawk was a challenge, but we finally spotted tents. The shelter was
full and most spots were taken, but we searched out a spot for us to
camp near each other as we had 2 tents: a 3 person tent for the girls, and a
5-person tent for the guys. It was after 6 o’clock so worked quickly to set up
tents, filter enough water for 8 people, clean up for bed, and hang our bags
which didn’t get accomplished till after dark. 
With everyone snug in their tents, I eased in to my sleeping
bag and felt my body begin to relax. A night’s sleep was going to be so nice.
BAM! Something fuzzy on my head was reverberating! I jumped and yelled, before
Bookworm cackled. She proceeded to show me Mr. Fuzzypants who only came out at
night to torture me. She was now The Jokester. A giggling fit ensued which
apparently bothered the guys beside us. Sorry, boys.
The next morning, we took our time to get ready which was a
good thing because there is no hurrying with 4 kids under age 10J Popeye made a shoulder
pad for his hurting shoulders with the bottoms of his hiking pants. That’s what
I call a good backpacker- able to figure out an answer to a problem. +-+Copy.JPG)
Most of
the hikers were gone by the time we started out after 10:00am. The hike was
going to be tough with Sassafras, Justice, and most of Gooch ahead of us. Our
goal was Gooch Shelter and we aimed to get to camp earlier than the day up before.
Chuckwagon started out carrying Mini-Chuck's pack but by the time we stopped for
our first break The Builder had devised a bribe for Mini-Chuck. If he carried
his own pack up Sassafras he could have a milkshake! He grabbed that pack and
took off with his Papere and we didn’t see them until we got to the top. It
was one slow step at a time and there were a couple of rests, but we
finally topped Sassafras and found a proud Mini-Chuck with The Builder waiting
on us.
We kept our pace and made it to Justice Creek where
Chuckwagon had promised the kids they could dip their toes in the water. They
had a nice break playing in the cold water while we had a nice break sitting!
We took off anxious for Gooch Shelter and we made it before 6. We took
two of the last sites and made camp faster than the night before: we were
getting the routine down. However, the boys had to let some steam off and
sounded like monkeys in the jungle for a bit, but hey, it’s all good. I proved
to be the crumb-Nazi and kept fussing about the granola they were spilling
around my tent so I sent them back to their tent spot so they could attract the
mice there! The Jokester set up the girls tent by herself (she was earning a
badge for her American Heritage club.)
Everyone was exhausted and in their tents by 8:30pm. Chuckwagon
had figured out what it took to get Mini-Chuck asleep at night—backpacking!
Maxine
tried to make sure The Jokester was warm enough since she had been very cold
the night before. Then it was sleep…so good till I woke up with something fluorescent
in my hands. ?? After holding them up, trying to figure it out, it became clear
I held 2 glowing centipedes…hmnnnn. I threw them somewhere above my sleeping
bag and put it down to The Jokester asleep beside me. 1:30am she needed to pee
so it was out of the tent I go where I took her down below our tent site which
was a fairly sharp bank. I’m shining my headlamp for her when what do my
wondering eyes do I see? The toilet paper rolling down the steep embankment….50
feet at least. In 20 seconds my sleepy brain registers: do I have enough toilet
paper of my own for the 8 of us tomorrow? No. Do they have anymore? I don’t
know. So, with a grumpy, ‘Micaela, I’m going to get you for this,’ I take off down
the bank. I make it and grab the roll and start back up. However, I hadn’t
tightened my Keens and they kept sliding off. I lost one in the deep
leaves but I found it after shining my headlamp around and kicking with my feet.
Finally, The Jokester and I are back in the tent. Ahhh…I’m in my bag again…happy
to be going to sleep when I feel Mr. Fuzzypants again. This girl is in trouble!
The next morning, I find in my sleeping bag the rest of the florescent bugs she had
hidden in my bag (and I slept with all night).
We all awoke to the hoot of an owl. Knowing we had a short 5
miles had everyone in a good mood. Chuckwagon led them in a few stretching exercises.
6) If one drinks and eats constantly, one has to pee and poop a lot
7)
You will get grumpy long before the kids get tired
8) There are endless shapes of trees and rocks in the woods which prove to be endlessly amazing
9) What’s important to you, will not be to them
10)
Expect your world to be expanded…they see so
much more than you realize.
We all awoke to the hoot of an owl. Knowing we had a short 5
miles had everyone in a good mood. Chuckwagon led them in a few stretching exercises.
We gathered up and started out again about
10 o’clock. Popeye had been enjoying the wildflowers all weekend, and he kept
pointing them out. The Racer was still out front. Mini-Chuck never quit
talking. Maxine and I were both tired. The Builder seemed fine, but Chuckwagon
might have been a little tired. But to his credit, he had helped carry the kid’s
packs (except Racer) off and on and kept up with them; constantly watching to
make sure they were okay. When we stopped for a break on top of what we thought was the
last mountain, it was a sigh of relief: almost to Woody.
Then we headed down
and realized we were once again going up. Yikes, The Jokester was at this
point, over it. I could tell Maxine was pretty disappointed, but she
persevered. Like she said, ‘what else can you do? You have to get out.’ And so,
we did- 20.1 miles to Woody Gap! It never looked so good, but what a great weekend.
The sore feet, hurting hips, and smelly bodies were forgotten.
We had experienced a special time with each other and our 4 gkids. The Builder
had checked off a bucket list item and we had all made memories with our grandkids
they’ll ever forget. Along the way, I had special time with each one on the
trail; sharing secrets or them telling me little things that were important to
them. That’s what it’s all about…those sharing times. It was a very satisfying
feeling as they headed off in their van to Mercier Orchard. By now, Mini-Chuck
had changed from a milkshake to a fried apple pieJ
Hiking With Kids Truisms:
1)
Sticks are fascinating- they can be broken, hit
against a tree so one can watch the pieces go flying in different
directions, or used as another hiking pole
2)
Why walk by a big rock embankment when one can
climb on it and see how high one can get without possibly breaking ones neck
3)
There is no such thing as too much mud. It is
imperative to see how deep it is or how much or how far one can splatter it
4)
A small tree is there to see if one can bend it
or climb it
5)
If one has enough drink and food, one can drink
and eat constantly6) If one drinks and eats constantly, one has to pee and poop a lot
7)
You will get grumpy long before the kids get tired8) There are endless shapes of trees and rocks in the woods which prove to be endlessly amazing
9) What’s important to you, will not be to them
10)
Expect your world to be expanded…they see so
much more than you realize.
