I’ve made it clear here on The Back Porch plenty of times how much I love mountains. Not that they don’t scare the bejeebers out of me now and then, but I really do love them.
I know, in part, it’s a sublime thing. I mean, how can a body not be impressed by a rock standing 14,000 feet high that has a history of taking the life of the occasional hiker/climber who unforgivingly figures a better way down? It happens. This spring the Crestone Eagle carried word of discovery of the remains of a backpacker from the Southeast who never made it back to his car last fall. Found his camp still set up after a winter of light snow in the high country. Found what was left of him not too far off. It didn’t go into details.
So it is in large part because of the sublime that I want to share mountains, the Sangres at Crestone in particular, with my grandkids.
I have a hard time explaining clearly just what it is about these Rockies that have captured my imagination. Yes, it is the magnitude of the mountain range and the expanse of San Luis valley just beyond. And, yes, the quiet retreat time available at Crestone touches something I need.
But now I seem to have the need to share the place with those I love who I think would find something special there, too.
First thought, after Cindy Lou, was grandboys. Alex is 14, Noah 10. What better time to set a guy loose on a mountain trail or climb a sand dune that seems to reach half way to the sky? Or maybe ride horses. Or take a raft trip down the wild and beautiful Arkansas River.
After our July travel dates were set and lodging arranged, Alex decided he couldn’t go with us due to his passion for aircraft. The Dayton Air Show was to take place while we would be in Colorado. Dude had to make a tough choice.
But Noah was in. As was another young friend, 12 year-old, Adel. Neither young man had been west of the Mississippi yet, so our car adventure would be multiple firsts for them, as well as a first for Cindy and my teaming up as vacation activity directors for kids. We’ve camped with grandkids before, but nothing on this scale.
I really wanted the boys to have bikes at Crestone. When I was their age, my bike was a magic carpet that took me into neighborhoods far enough away from home that I had never walked them. These places were new and exciting, and I really liked that feeling. I hoped bikes would somehow add to Adel and Noah’s experiences, so onto the Escape bike rack they went. They trailed us nicely for our 2,600 mile round trip.
We hauled Adel’s violin, baseball gloves, frisbees, a soccer ball, and a bag full of crafts to keep kids interested in a quiet place. In my heart, though, I hoped the guys would cut loose from us and go out and find their own adventure. Such was, and is, at the very center of my wanting (needing?) to share mountains with boys.
The picture above distills an essence of this Sangres trip for me. Adel is sitting with his water bottle with Noah at his back holding his walking stick. Both have just spent a couple hours ascending the trail to North Crestone Lake.
We knew we would not reach the lake on this day, but that we would discover as much of the trail as we could. Noah had just decided not too far back on the trail that he had had enough walking for the day. After a break we would start to head back down.
Just about then, the fourth ‘boy’ in our party, my Los Angeles friend Bruce, who had been the hike’s rabbit up ahead on the trail, came back for us to advise of a very rewarding mountain panorama just ahead from our current position. Ahead Noah and I pushed. The view, as you can see, was amazing.
So I guess I’m saying that adventure and boys and mountains go together. Surely in Crestone. And it’s not that I don’t want to take granddaughters. It’s just that I’d like to take kids who would most probably enjoy the physical kick in the butt that Nature provides. I’m just not sure about grandgirls.
Today’s Elder Idea: If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder...he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in.
from Rachel Carson’s The Sense of Wonder
photo: ‘Mountains w/ boys’ Tom Schaefer (summer 2011)
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