Backpacking into the mountains with a boy (or two) and a dog.

This weekend I backpacked.  It's been a while.  Often, I try to think of an excuse not to, as I am not that good at it.  Most of the time, Larry has to come back down the trail to help get me up it.  He'd take my pack and I'd finish the climb with, if I had one, my tail between my legs.
This time, I did it all up and down, and didn't fall once (well, once off my 3 legged stool after a beer) nor did I twist my ankle, another thing I usually do.
We went with Gator (Walt Green), a good friend of Larry's, and with Madeline, our sweet puffa, this her first backpacking trip!  I was very worried about letting her off leash, first - it's not allowed, and secondly - when she sees a chippie or anything moving, she's off like a rocket, and I was afraid we'd lose her.  My fears were diminished when I realised how hard she pulled me up the mountain.  Now, granted, I thought this would help me get up the mountain, but it just made it worse, as she kept getting us all tangled up in the lead.  So, off leash she went, and she was, for the most part, a perfect angel.  She loved to hike, and when I got behind, which I did frequently, she came racing back down the trail to check on me, ears up, wagging her tail as if to say, 'hey, mom, you okay?' and I'd say, 'I'm okay, Maddy, you go on ahead...' and she'd race back up to Larry and Gator.

courtesy of Wikipedia, as my phone died early on...



Maddy enjoying Larry's chair!

 We got to the top, and were amazed again by the beauty of Mt. Stuart, and by some small rocks laid out on the ground that read, 'Hi Tyson' (Larry's last name)...left for us by his great friend, Iron Mike Campeau!  Also found was a large can of Foster's beer, left in the crook of a tree, with a note from Iron!  What an amazing discovery (when did he do this?).  Once the beer had time to get really cold (we buried it in the snow) we raised a toast to Iron and shared the bounty.

Now, I've been on this particular hike at least 3-4 times before, and always enjoyed great weather.  This was not one of those times!  We woke to rain, bright lightening, and count with me, one thousand one, one thousand two, THUNDER!  A bit scary, but not as scary as waking the next morning to more rain, and my pack, which I left out in the rain...well, everything being totally soaked, so much for a lighter pack on the way down!  It started to clear about half way down, and we made it out without incident.
For my exemplary hiking abilities, I got ice cream on the way home.  Good times!