That was what Ezra asked me as we drove home from Church today. A big smile crossed my face and I got that surge of parental pride. My son is an adventurer! But not just him...
Yesterday our little family decided to hike Camelback Mountain. Shiloh and I did this hike several times when we were dating and married, and it happens to be the spot where Shiloh proposed to me. Needless to say, it's a place we love.
But, we hadn't hiked this in YEARS. I think the last time we did it was New Years 2006, with baby Eliza in tow. So, on a whim we decided to resurrect the tradition. We told the kids the night before and they were bouncing off the walls with the excitement of hiking to the top of a mountain!
Here they are at the base getting ready to go (practically bursting with excitement):
The trail was pretty well traveled for the first half mile. There are rails and stairs here and there:
Beforehand, I told the kids that a large part of hiking was sticking together as a family. So, Shiloh and I each "spotted" a child all the way up and down. It's difficult to tell from the above picture, but this little section is incredibly steep. In fact, on the way back down Eliza just held onto the rail and intermittently slid down to Shiloh.
The kids could *not* have done this hike on their own--it was far too steep and there was a ton of climbing over large rocks and boulders, but it was a beautiful example of trust and teamwork to have each child with a parent to aid their direction and keep them safe. My heart was just bursting with all the symbolism of this hike. (Can't wait to pull it into teaching opportunities down the road!) Eliza kept saying, "I am going to remember this day FOREVER!"
Here's my little hiking buddy:
After about 1.5 hours, we made it to the top and here was what we saw!
Amazing, right?
The summit is not very big. (No joke, it didn't seem much larger than my downstairs.) And there are CLIFFS on 3 of the 4 sides. (Yes, that is a cliff behind Shiloh). So it was a little nerve-racking when we got to the top and, of course, Ashlyn wanted to get out of the backpack. I conceded, but I was not so daring as to let her out of my arms!
The aforementioned cliff is behind Eliza now... She was still within my reach though--trusty mama bear instincts coming through.
The descent took a little longer than the ascent due to the kids needing far more help. (Who knew it would be harder to get down off boulders, than get up them!?) So, the entire hike took about 3.5 hours.
I have never been more proud of my kids than I was as we stepped across the threshold into the base of the hike. it was a much harder hike than I remember (I used to do the entire thing in 1.5 hours!). I was sore and thirsty, but my kids stayed positive and energetic the entire hike.
As we reached the end Ezra proclaimed, "Mom, this was the best day ever!" I couldn't have agreed more.
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