Day 4 – A Fine & Pleasant Misery – G family stylePatrick McManus books are great reads. Check them out if you’ve not tried them…..Mike has to edit on the fly but they’ve been great camping books for years for our family.
We often look at each other in the middle of our traditional “camping trip in the rain” and comment, “This is a fine and pleasant misery”.
In addition to the 2.5 hour hike up Rainbow trail in the rain….this a.m. we had more camping humor.
0400 Jared came in from the tent and said, “Zander took a water bottle out to the tent and it spilled all over me.”
0420 Arielle reports that Stacia is throwing up in a back bunk.
0430 I climb back into my own bed….a bit bleary eyed but sure I can get another 1 ½ of sleep. I’m THAT tired (I’m usually up if awaken at 0400). Mike comments, “This is a fine and pleasant memory,” from his snug bed. I do not deck him. ::snort::
0445 Josiah brings Zander in. He’s SOAKED from his pillow (which upset him greatly) to his socks. I strip him and wrap him in a mummy bag. Displaying grand foresight Mike and I had made the table up into a bed despite assurances from Nolan and Zander that they would not be back in. I plopped the mummy wrapped Zander onto the cushioned table. As I give Zander a kiss he said, “Mom, finally! It’s so warm in here. The tent is freezing.”
0500 Stacia is throwing up again.
0520 CY brings in Nolan, mummy wrap repeated. I’m very thankful at this point that Mike had the foresight to pack every sleeping bag we own.
0525 Jared wonders if we should open a van window for Jamin, it seems he climbed into the van when the water bottle deluge began. I search for keys. I mutter about WHY any sane person would choose to sleep in a van and Zander offers his opinion, “Maybe he got tired of watching our bodies shiver and our teeth chatter.” ::snort::
0530 I SHOULD get up and start breakfast but I climb back into MY WARM BED (and I felt a bit guilty for not inviting the younger boys in; but I said no to guilt).
0600 Jamin is up editing his latest book. He’s quite disciplined.
PHOTO (day 3)
0700 Mike determines that though the weather forecast predicted 80% chance of heavy thunder storms…the sky is blue and they’d better try to scale the top of Marble Mountain...and explore Marble Cave. We’d love to plant a cache up here – a definite 5/5 but we’ve not gotten permission. We’ll settle for leaving one of our wooden caching coins.
0715 I begin making pancakes. The boys begin dragging wet sleeping bags out of the tent. I drag smelly clothes and mattresses out of the trailer. Mike packs a lunch and energy snacks for the hike. He gives Nolan and Arielle permission to come along this year. We debated. He KNOWS the hike is hard and tough and may be too much for Nolan….but we’ve been telling him to “do hard things” and that “no mountain is too high to scale”….so off they went.
I had planned to run into town for groceries (it takes a lot of food to feed 11 people 3x a day), quarters (laundry), possibly a hot spot and an ice cream cone for the little ones. Ooops….they drove off with Stacia’s shoes and the keys to the trailer and all vehicles. We’re tied to camp. {Turns out her shoes were in the diaper bag that they removed from the van….which I never thought to even look at all day.}
0830 I switch the crock pot to high. It holds shepherd’s pie. Make ahead mashed potatoes are thawing. I’ll assemble it all and have a meal hot and ready when they get home.
0830 – 1300 we clean the trailer, clean camp sites, find enough quarters to wash the smelly stuff….and hang it to dry. We hang and switch around numerous sleeping bags, wet socks, wet and muddy clothes from yesterday’s hike in the rain. We hike down to the creek and visit the cows. Zander tries to find food for ANTS. We visit all the Seasoned Citizens in the camp. Stacia tells each one, “I know you love me,” answers all their questions, explains why she is wearing mom’s shoes and why ZANDER has a rubber band gun and she doesn’t (he won’t trade for her doll), and tells each one, “Promise I’ll see you again.” The old gents love watching Zander site in on various critters. He’s valiantly protected the whole park from “ants”. We’ve come home for lunch…..and that’s the a.m. We don’t expect our big folks back until late into the evening….
{I tend to have to speak to myself about contentment and such when Mike and the older kids go off on these adventures and I’m watching little ones…..but honestly I did this hike 22 years ago and didn’t make it to the top. I doubt I’d make it now. I did go above timberline. I also discovered bear tracks. It’s a family joke that Mike was so determined to reach the top that he left me on the trail with a bear. ::snort:: Honestly, I do miss doing this with Mike. I think by the time there are no little ones to watch I’ll be too decrepit to go hiking. ::snort:: I think we need to begin to plan adventuresome dates to make up for these days. HOWEVER, I do not mind at all sitting in a camp chair, reading a book, watching the children pick wildflowers while I view gorgeous mountains….and when the heavy thunder storm comes? We’ll go inside and play “Sorry”. Ed note: well THAT didn’t work out – when the storm came I stayed outside like some kind of idiot and tried to take an awning down.}
1500 – 1600 STORM coming. We folded and stowed all the sleeping bags back in the tent. We buttoned the tent up. We stowed all the camp chairs. I sent the kids in while I tried to put the awning down. There was lots of wind. I didn’t succeed and quit when the storm blew over.
1700 We walked to the road and back – 1 mile.
1800 I fed the little ones and myself.
1900 We join the rest of the park residents to watch the sunset on the mountain. I take a ton of photos.
2000 I receive a voice message saying that they are waiting in Marble Cave for the rain blow over (sounds better than my plan of wrestling with an awning in the storm ::snort:J. The message was sent at 1730 (5:30 p.m.). We expect them home shortly. The little ones are getting antsy.
2015 I realize I did NOT get to read Dayuma. I spent the entire day chasing little ones…small families are hard work. I DID get a lot of walks in. I DID take 78 photos. I’m now more than ready for Mike to return…
2112 – They are home. I’m hearing wild stories of exploits. They can barely move. They were hungry but TIRED. Several fell right into bed after we pumped them full of water. I’ll have to have one of them write the day up from THEIR perspective. I DO know they made it to the cave AND the tip top of the mountain – over 12,000 feet up. We’re at 7,888 here; I’m sure they drove a bit of it…but I’m also sure they hiked a lot of feet UP. LOL
©2008 D.R.G.
