percious
Well-known member
In case you were out of town this weekend, the weather forecast for this past weekend was fairly dismal. Our best chance for good weather turned out to be the Catskills, and after perusing a bunch of options, we settled on a little peak in the heart of the park by the Name of Hunter.
2000 feet of elevation gain may seem like a bit too much to put a 4 year old through, but I knew Colden was up to the task. Besides, I knew there was a fire-tower at the top and Colden loves towers. So we started off, Myself, John, Nathan and Colden. It was a father-son affiar. The boys were tired from the early start and the long drive, but it was not too long before we reached the cold spring spouting out into a large bucket. We had followed a shallowly graded horse trail which was pleasant in that it allowed us to walk hand-in hand for as much of the journey as we wanted. This proved to be the fastest form of travel. A few beverages were left to cool in the bucket while we hauled up the last 1/4 mile with a few 100 feet of elevation.
We soon spotted a nice respice behind a recently burned shelter and got our camp prepared. Nathan and Colden helped me collect wood for a fire while John set up our tent. The evening meal was organized in the top of the bear container. A tarp was placed over the firewood and pit in the event that it would rain. The sky was rumbling. We were off.
We passed a few junctions and finally reached a sign for a spring. Thunder started to boom. We hunkered down waiting for a bit to see if the storm would pass quickly. We were certain to be close to the top, but turned back as not to get shocked. It started to rain, and we arrived at camp soggy, but no worse for wear. We sat in our spacious 4-man and soon the rain let up. Dinner commenced, the fire eased the onslaught of black flies. Some of our beverages turned up stolen, save one which the thieves left. Nice of them...
We nodded off to bed.
(cont.)
2000 feet of elevation gain may seem like a bit too much to put a 4 year old through, but I knew Colden was up to the task. Besides, I knew there was a fire-tower at the top and Colden loves towers. So we started off, Myself, John, Nathan and Colden. It was a father-son affiar. The boys were tired from the early start and the long drive, but it was not too long before we reached the cold spring spouting out into a large bucket. We had followed a shallowly graded horse trail which was pleasant in that it allowed us to walk hand-in hand for as much of the journey as we wanted. This proved to be the fastest form of travel. A few beverages were left to cool in the bucket while we hauled up the last 1/4 mile with a few 100 feet of elevation.
We soon spotted a nice respice behind a recently burned shelter and got our camp prepared. Nathan and Colden helped me collect wood for a fire while John set up our tent. The evening meal was organized in the top of the bear container. A tarp was placed over the firewood and pit in the event that it would rain. The sky was rumbling. We were off.
We passed a few junctions and finally reached a sign for a spring. Thunder started to boom. We hunkered down waiting for a bit to see if the storm would pass quickly. We were certain to be close to the top, but turned back as not to get shocked. It started to rain, and we arrived at camp soggy, but no worse for wear. We sat in our spacious 4-man and soon the rain let up. Dinner commenced, the fire eased the onslaught of black flies. Some of our beverages turned up stolen, save one which the thieves left. Nice of them...
We nodded off to bed.
(cont.)
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