My grandson came to live with us when he was in the second grade. Just when we thought we were through raising children, we got to start over. Baseball, basketball and Cub Scouts replaced our weekly adventures in competitive trail riding.
I was a Boy Scout in my youth but never moved up very high in rank. When my grandson started in scouts I was somewhat familiar with the organization. As it turned out five of the boys who started together in Cub Scouts worked their way up to becoming Eagle Scouts. Several of us parents participated in their journey.
On one particular occasion an overnight hike down the Appalachian Trail was planned. After packing all the gear we set out on this weekend adventure. Ed Yawn and I volunteered to bring up the rear and I will admit that we did not know, at the time, what this would entail. As soon as the hike started we began to notice that some of the younger boys were not able to carry their packs and move down the trail. As they fell out one by one Ed and I began to inspect packs. It became obvious that their mothers had helped them pack. There were propane stoves with extra propane bottles, extra changes of clothes and extra pairs of shoes. Fortunately the trail we were on circled within one hundred yards of the vehicles. When we reached that point we returned at least ten pounds of extra equipment, per boy, to the truck. This helped a lot but we were still stop and go for the rest of the day. This was taking its toll on Ed and me because, while we were able to carry our packs, the stop and go was wearing us down.
We finally made it to the campsite about an hour behind the first group. All the best spots to pitch a tent had been claimed by the early arrivers. Ed and I found a spot with a very slight slope and set up our one man tents. As the night went on we discovered that even a slight slope made our tents with nylon floors and nylon sleeping bags work like a sliding board. All night long I would climb to the top and then slide back down. If it hadn’t been for the tent pole I would have been sleeping under the stars.
Next morning there was ice on everything. We had obviously climbed above the freeze line and the entire mountain, with the exception of the ground was covered by a sheet of rime ice. We got a fire started, cooked a big pot of oatmeal for breakfast and then packed up to head back down the mountain. Ed and I were both glad to see the truck. We fired it up and headed for home, with the heat on high. About an hour into the trip, the leaders decided to stop for pizza. After parking the truck I found that my body was so stiff I could barely walk across the parking lot. On the next hiking trip Ed and I volunteered to take the lead and no one saw us again until they got to the campsite.
