The first hike I ever went on was on the Pitchoff Mountain hiking trail, barely four miles from the Adirondack Program’s Mountain House. I was five years old and on vacation with my family in the Adirondacks, having my first real taste of the outdoors after growing up in New York City. The trail was nearly seven miles and had an elevation rise of sixteen-hundred and fifty feet along a rocky and boulder-filled ridge-line. I scampered along with my twin sister, struggling at the steep sections where I could barely reach up to where I was supposed to step next. Our parents lifted us over those, and we continued on our way until we reached the viewpoint. We turned to go back down, and I remember that going down was much more fun than going up because we got to slide down the steep rocks and jump from rock to rock when our parents judged it safe enough. When we reached the trailhead at the end we were exhausted. We took naps.
The next day, I summited my first mountain: Whiteface. I wasn’t tired at the end of this one, solely because the trek was only a steep quarter mile from the parking lot. Because my sister and I were five and had no idea of what we should and shouldn’t do atop the mountain’s alpine ecosystem, we happily ran around, ignoring the “endangered plant species; stay on bare rock” signs that endangered our fun. I’ve always remembered the view from the top: the peaks and lakes and woods seemingly running on for endless miles in all directions. By the time I returned with this class on our field trip, I had forgotten that Whiteface was the mountain I'd summited that day. I found myself looking at the same view that had been my first summit view all those years ago. At first I thought it was déjà vu, but then I realized the special place I had returned to.
As soon as I got service on my cell-phone I texted my mom asking her if she could find any photos of that day, and now just this week she sent me these two images:
 |
| Me and Dad |
 |
| Taking in the ADKs on Whiteface's summit |
No comments:
Post a Comment