A Dream Becomes Reality on Mount Major 6/21/11

Beautiful Granddaughter in Beautiful Setting

Mount Major 1786'

4 Miles 1200' Elevation gain

Mount Major Trail

Seneca, Emma and Me

Many times during the course of a lifetime you get to do something that when you were young you never dreamed you would get to do. As you got older and circumstances changed a small spark of a dream may have ignited. As the years passed this spark became a flame burning in the back of your mind and you wondered if it would ever become a fire, or if it would just burn itself out as the time passed. On Tuesday I was lucky enough to see the flame become a small fire, if even for just a short time.

For the first time I got to do a real hike with my favorite girl, my granddaughter. True, she was none too pleased with her grampy for dragging her up a nasty old hill when it would have been more fun to play Sorry, or go to Burger King, or to go shoe shopping, some of the things we had been doing together this week. A ride in the boat certainly would have been preferable to hiking up this nasty old rock in the heat and bugs.

Along the way we stopped to rest, and each time she made it clear that she was not enjoying this, but each time I was able to convince her to go just a little further, then we could rest again. I knew I was not pushing her beyond her capabilities, she is tall, and strong, and beautiful. Her mom says, given the choice, she will choose to be lazy. I thought about that and decided that's probably true about just about everyone. I knew she could do it, and so did she, so I coaxed her along.

So, many times in your life you wonder if you will ever get to do the thing you desire, to fan the spark into a flame that starts the fire, if only for a little while. If and when your dream comes true and you get to do this thing, it is hard to describe the feeling. I think it is more a combination of feelings: Happiness that you were able to bring this dream to fruition, pride that you were able to see it through, love for the things that brought it into being, thankfulness that it was all able to come about, and many other emotions that play along with it as well.

I told this small girl that means so much to me how proud this old man was of her that she was able to accomplish something even though it was not something she wanted to do. I tried to explain that as she grew older there would be many things in her life that she would not want to do, but that sometimes the circumstances of her life would require her to do them whether she liked to do them or not. In the wisdom of her youth I think she understood this, and I think she took on a bit of pride as she came to realize what she had just accomplished, and in so doing she filled an old man with a joy he had not known for many years.

As we began to descend she seemed to understand what it was about hiking that was so important. She soaked in the sunshine and fresh air and reveled at the lovely views out across Winnepesaukee and to the mountains beyond. I told her how, many years before, I had climbed this same hill with her dad and her Uncle Jack who she will now never get to know, and her Uncle Justin who was only four when he first made the hike. She looked at me as though she wondered why a creepy old man would make small children do such a thing, and I think she began to understand just why.

As we continued to descend she made a game of "Following Emma" who was enjoying the day in her usual way. We discussed where we would eat lunch, for she had discovered that snacks and juice boxes are fine for the trail, but that even a little girl can build a big appetite by hiking "a mountain". As we strolled along the "road" like section of the trail she even admitted that "Coming down was fun," though she had hated the uphill part.

The flame of my dream had been fanned into a small fire. I do not know when, if ever, I will get to see it burn again. That is the uncertainty in life, but what we must all live with. I can but hope that my fire has lent a small spark which will burn in the back of her mind the way it did mine. We live so far apart and we have such little time together each year that I want every minute to be enjoyable for her while she's here. I hope in time she will look back at this as a fond memory of the time that grampa tried to light a small spark in the back of her mind. I know I will hold this day in my heart forever.


Not as Much Fun as Grampa Promised

Full set of pics HERE:

KDT

Kevin, what a great report and pictures!

Pat and I took two grandchildren up Wildcat last year and it was obvious halfway up that interest was flagging. Pat dropped a dollar bill where Nolan would find it, and sure enough, there was renewed energy. Then lo and behold, Danielle found another dollar!

It only cost us four dollars to get them all the way up, but the memories are priceless.

Ha!

Damn! Wish I'd have thought of that! 8 )

KDT

Heh heh.. when you have two kids, promise the first one to the top a dollar and then try and keep up!

Tim

OH Gramps, I'm sure she forgives you !

What an amazing gift you have given for your granddaughter and for those of us who hope to see that tiny spark. Even if it takes years, and perhaps reading your report way down her life's road, you will have made a difference.

I know. It happened to me. When I was a rebelious youth, my grandmother tucked a poem into my hand. ("I have to live with myself and so I want to be right for myself to know...") It stung sharply at the time and I still wince at the memory, but it gave me a clue about life.

Another time, on the Southern Presidentials. I decided to "sit out" going on to Eisenhower. My family left me sitting along the trail (I was about 12) while they went on. (You could get away with that in those days.) Upon their return, they told me they had their photo taken by a well known photographer in the region. I had missed that opportunity! Before long, Dick Smith came along and shot another photo of our family hiking together. Years later, I went into the EMS store in Boston, and their, high up on the wall was a poster advertising the 1966 AMC Guide, and our family's in the picture!

Thanks all!

@ Tim- I might have to tell her there's a mall at the top, but same idea!

@ Sabrina- I hope so!

@ Erugs- I can only hope the spark becomes flame! Beautiful story about being young in the mountains. One of my biggest regrets in life is that I never did more hiking with my sons when they were young...

KDT

The pics are lovely and made me giggle. Definitely NOT having ANY fun, is she? Well, 1200 feet of gain isn't exactly child abuse... and teenagers are funny... so I too think there MAY be a SHRED of hope that someday she Might be glad she survived this hike!

For the record, I was dragged kicking and screaming on many a sailing trip as a kid, hating every second of it.... and today, inexplicably, I can't get enough sailing. I am pretty sure I was a cranky little hiker at times, too. And now, different story.

I think you picked a really good mountain for the less-enthusiastic, and again, cool pics.

None of my nieces or nephews were interested in hiking with the cool aunt and uncle, so I have two nieces left to try and ignite a spark. The 9 year old doesn’t seem too interested, yet the 1 ½ year old seems far more adventurous. The down side is that I might be a tad too old by the time she is interested in hiking the Whites. I do feel fortunate, however, in that at least I get to hike with Alex, Sage, Georgia, and Justice.

Beautifully written report, Kevin.
Guess she is too young to mention that there might be a Starbucks at the top.
We had a similar hiking trip with our young niece in CA, who decided to go along on a hike with us, her parents and sister. She was complaining that it was "too hot" and "too many bugs" making it clear to us she would not hike again.. Now in her mid 20's she can't find enough time to hike and enjoy the outdoors.
I am sure Seneca will want to hike again with you.

Donna

Thanks!

Just want to thank everyone for the positive feedback and encouragement. I didn't realize when I wrote it that it would stir so many memories of childhoods passed, and I am thankful to know there were many who didn't appreciate their first hiking experiences but who are veteran hikers now because somebody "made" them when they were young.

I can only hope that "making' her hike this day lit a spark that someday will burn bright!

KDT

Very awesome.

For what it's worth, the first bunch of times I ... got dragged ... hiking I didn't exactly love it either. At some point, though, it sort of clicked. I had one of those "Aha, so this is why people enjoy this" kind of epiphanies, and it's been all hills since then.

Do it again!



I'm blessed with two kids who don't have to be asked twice if they want to go hiking, but as one who had to be sort of conned into it myself, I can relate to the girl in the pictures!

Awesome Kevin!!!
Don't worry about the rest. It will happen.

Beautiful story.

After years of working with adolescents I've come to realize that, although it may not appear so, the look on that little girl's face is one of absolute joy. They can hide that very well behind teen misery and angst.

My 3.5 YO daughter was given a choice last week after a mile hike to do a second hike or go to her favorite playground, both were nearby. She made Daddy very proud by choosing cliffs over swings...

One of the best trip reports I have read. Awesome!

Sweet! She'll replay in her mind the day and the experiences, and you never know, you may have planted a seed. Important thing is that you gave her the chance.