A Great Sunday: Part 1 - All I can do is smile. (Updated)

Sunday, October 16, 2011
(Update: If you've already read this, the update is after the trail sign photo below.)

The day started early. My young son was heading out to hike the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway Trail, and I got to do the drop-off. Those of you who have kids who have grown up and headed off to college, or who have otherwise left home, will know how precious every chance to be with your kids can be. This was even more precious for several reasons.

Both my sons, one of their friends, and I had hiked the trail 5 years earlier. My old son, PJ, was 16 at the time, and my young son, KC, was 13. Being independent 16 year-old teenage boys, PJ and his buddy slept in one tent; KC and I shared another.  Even when there was a hut to share, the 16 year-olds kept their distance at night in their tent. Though it was a tough haul at times (a tired papa dealing with tired boys), it was one of the best times I had with the boys, and I'm thrilled that KC has returned to the trail already.

His hiking buddy (both of them are taking a gap year) is the kind of friend every parent is happy for their kids to have. Actually there were supposed to be three people on this hike, but one of them backed out. So KC and Liz (just a friend) planned this out, keeping their parents in the dark as much as possible, freely sharing only what they had to, and the little bit more we could pry out of them. Knowing my son, I'm sure he thought it was going to be a piece of cake getting ready for this because he had done it before. I think he didn't realize how much planning went into the last trip. But being the obedient father, I didn't pester him (too much I hope). I offered to help, but was mostly thrilled they just allowed me to drop them off.

48 Miles; 77 Kilometers; 4 Days of Bliss

First I was told they were leaving Saturday. Then I heard they were leaving Sunday (this was confirmed when I asked). The plan was for KC to get up at 4:30AM so he could go pickup Liz at 5:30 and then come back for me at 6:00 so they could be on the trail at 7:00AM. I got to sleep a bit later than KC, or so I thought. All you can do is smile.

My son inherited his father's ability to burn the candle at both ends, and also my inability to pack and leave on time, unless their is a plane or train to catch. I set my alarm for 5:15 so I could shower and eat before they came back for me. He was still up late the night before, gathering together the last things on his lists, when I went to bed. When I woke up, KC was still sleeping, snoozing through the alarm as teenagers can so easily do. So we both showered, he finished gathering, then we both headed out to get Liz.

If you knew Liz, you wouldn't be too surprised to see her walk out of the house with a fully packed backpack...barefooted. But even I was surprised to learn she was planning to hike 48 miles this way...in October...in the Granite State...with bandaids on her feet before she even started, at least in part due to her contra dancing barefooted for 6 hours the day before. But she did bring some backup feet:

All you can do is smile.

We arrived at the foot of the mountain at 8:00AM, and they had to decide what shared stuff they each were going to carry, and also what they could leave behind. They actually did quite well, only unloading a bit of food. And then KC had to figure out how to attach the tent and the sleeping pad to his back pack. (This is where the advanced planning really helps, like maybe it would be a good idea to figure all of this out before getting to the base of the mountain?) All you can do is smile, and try to be supportive and helpful.

By 8:30AM they headed up the trail, one with an extra 50 pounds on her back and barefooted walking on the little sharp stones most of us would be jumping off with ouch..ouch...ouch, and the other one with a sleeping pad swaying above his head; both no doubt will have a great time, making fun with whatever comes their way over the next four days.

I am jealous, but all I can do is smile all the way home as I imagine all the fun they will have...

UPDATE: Just after I posted the above, my son called to say he lost Liz (she forgot her cell phone at home). As often happens on these long hikes, they had spread out from time to time, hiking at their own pace, then waiting at the next logical location. He thought she must have taken a wrong turn, amongst all the Blueberry bushes as it was easy to lose the trail this time of year with all the fallen leaves, as he had taken a wrong turn, but he was back on the trail, and arrived at a parking lot where the trail crossed Rt 123, a place he was sure she would wait if she reached there without him. He circled back on a different trail to see if he could find her. She in the meantime had been waiting at a different, earlier logical meeting spot on the main trail. After a while she decided he either lost the trail or he must have gone ahead, to a different logical meeting spot. 

She decided to go on, but left a note in the log in the trail box at the parking lot (where he was sure she would wait), telling anyone who checked what she was doing next (which was to go on, heading for the place they planned to spend the night). A bit later, he went to the same trail box, tore out a blank piece of paper, and left her a note on the outside of the box, in case she made it that far, telling her to wait there for him. He then called me, and then went back up the trail to see if he could find her again. He never read the log book.

When I arrived, we decided to head back up the trail again, choosing the two most logical choices, after leaving large notes on my van, and also asking others who were hiking in the area to keep an eye out for her. We met at the top where the two paths we took meet but no sign of Liz. We decided we needed to call her parents, but all we could do is leave messages as no one answered. We headed back down two different paths. Still no sign. We ran into a fellow who manages the forest we were in and he helped us look by going down different paths.  Finally we decided we needed to call rescue personnel as we didn't want to wait much later as it was only 4 hours until dark. We didn't know if she wandered down some side trail and was lost, if she slipped and twisted an ankle or broken a leg, or perhaps even fell and hit her head.

Just after making these calls, a communications worker came down the dirt road which is part of the trail that ends in the parking lot. We asked him if he had seen a young lady hiking alone. He said about 2-3 hours earlier he had seen a barefooted girl, with a full pack, looked like a through hiker; he said "Hi" and asked if everything was OK. He said she seemed fine. That was Liz. He'd seen her less than 1/4 mile up the dirt road, heading straight for the parking lot where we had been standing.

There was no doubt she had made it that far. Was she also now walking in circles trying to find KC? It occurred to KC at this point to check the log book in the trail box. Sure enough. Now we knew she had gone on, at some point. There was not a time on her entry, because she "forgot" her cell phone and doesn't carry a watch.

We sent KC down the trail, and two of us drove down the road to where the trail runs right by an old fella's house. I started to walk up the trail when I ran into the old fella and told him that I was going to meet my son as he had lost track of a hiking buddy earlier in the day (my cell phone had died at this point). He told me he saw a barefooted young lady a few hours earlier, who had told him she lost track of her hiking buddy, but had decided to go on to where they were planning to spend the night, not being sure if he was further ahead or somewhere behind. 

It wasn't anyone's fault, except perhaps the both of them, for not having clear plans for what to do if they lost track of each other, and where to wait (did I say wait?), if they did lose track of each other.

Only about 12 more miles to go.

At this point we were certain we knew where she was headed. Sure enough. No more than 5 minutes after we arrived, Liz came strolling up the dirt road, where the trail goes through the little center of Nelson.

All I could do was smile, and take pictures, to show her mother she was alive. 

(someday her kids are going to make her pay for this)

FINAL UPDATE: Final Update: They arrived at the base of Monadnock and it was raining and cold, but they ascended with full packs. It was incredibly windy and still raining heavy at the top, so they reached the peak and then turned around and headed right back down. Liz did it all, 48 miles plus, barefooted. Both of them had plenty of blisters. They are both safe at home, and I'm betting they both are sound asleep.

Next up: A Great Sunday: Part 2 - How much wood can a woodchuck chuck?