The Hike. . .

The condensed version of the big hike started right here on this pretty bridge just outside of Silver Creek Plunge Campground. We drove a steep and winding road 16-ish miles from the cabin to this lovely destination:

This is the beginning of the trail. . .

Rob and Zach have been planning this trip for awhile and mapped the entire thing out on Google Earth. I didn't actually go on the hike for several reasons (mostly because I'm a big fan of toilets that flush) so I will have to give my version of what the boys told me. (Actually I take that back. This is where I left off a few weeks ago and Rob wanted me to have the correct information!! We just finished the commentary- better late than never right????)

Gloria was invited to go along but she ultimately decided to spend the day with me and Jake at the cabin. Wise girl.

The original plan was to hike up to a ridge above Silver Creek and plant a Geo Cache on a high peak that they had located on Google Earth in the weeks leading up to the hike. They ended up condensing the hike due to time restrictions but the starting place was the same. . .

They were both in good spirits as they waved good-bye and headed out on their grand adventure. . .

Gloria and I headed back down the steep, winding road to the cabin and spent the day on the river. And did a little napping. And watched deer stare through the picture window of the cabin. . .

In the meantime, Zach took plenty of pictures with his camera as they hiked the wilderness. . .

They were only on a beaten track for a mile or so before they started to go cross country. It was beautiful!

This is the view from about a quarter of the way up the ridge to Rattlesnake Point (half-way to the geo cache location):

The center of this picture is zoomed in on the parking lot where the hike began:

This is a good example of the steepness of the terrain that they traveled:

The view across the canyon:

They didn't see any wild animals but they saw plenty of evidence that they were nearby . . .

The next three shots are a panoramic view from about half way up the ridge:

The happy hikers:

A view of the ridge that overlooks Deadwood Reservoir (across the canyon):

Lunch time. Zach was concerned that mountain lions would be attracted to the smell of the tuna fish they had for lunch. . .

This was taken about 3/4 of the way up the ridge. They had to find a way to go around these obstacles on the way up:

The revised Geo-cache location. . .

A panoramic view from Rattlesnake Point:

It's funny that I don't have cell phone coverage in Kohls but Rob could call me from his cell almost the entire hike. It was nice to hear regular updates that they hadn't been eaten by wild animals. . .

This is where they had originally planned to put the Geo-cache but the time limitations prevented them from going another 4 miles over the same kind of terrain. Besides the fact that if they had made it to the base of that rock, they would have had to climb another 400 feet to the top:

An even closer zoomed-in view:

Back to the revised (and actual) Geo-cache location. . .

Zach and Rob climbed about 30 feet up these rocks in order for Zach to place the treasure right here:

The view from the top of the Geo-cache location:

In this picture, Rob's backpack is sitting on a rock about half-way to the bottom. He left it there so it wouldn't hinder his climb to the top. . .

Standing near the top. . .

Once the two guys reached the top of the rock bluff, they realized it was an obvious home to a few kitties. Not the friendly kind of kitties either. It appeared to be a mountain lion den!!!!

They were on the bluff without any of the protection against wild animals that they had wisely packed due to the fact that Rob left his pack in order to climb the rock face! They made a very quick descent while looking behind to see if they were being followed!!

They refilled their water supply at this pretty little mountain spring. They had a chance to use the newly purchased pump and filter. . .

The descent went steeply into a ravine. . .

By the time they reached the bottom, cell coverage was sparse but I could tell they were trying to call me. Gloria and I left the cozy cabin in the middle of the first quarter of the BSU game and headed for our planned meeting spot at a bridge just before Silver Creek. Half-way up the road I began recieving texts from several people telling me to meet them at Silver Creek. They looked a little worse for wear and I wish I would have taken an "after" picture but they had a really good time and started making plans for their next adventure!!

Top Ten Reasons I'm Behind on My Blog. . .

Number 10: Too busy. . .

Number 9: Too tired. . .

Number 8: I like to post things in order so if I get behind, it's much harder to catch up. . .

Number 7: I started a post about Rob and Zach's hike and Rob wants to add his 2 cents to the commentary (with good reason) but we haven't had the time (See number's 10 and 8!). . .

Number 6: I edited a bunch of pictures (like 200!) and then they disappeared off of my computer.  Thankfully they were still on the camera but I haven't been able to get back to re-editing (See number's 10 and 8). . .

Number 5: I've been helping with homework in the evenings which is pretty new to me (See number's 10 and 9). . .

Number 4: I've been leaving the house every morning at 8:00 a.m. and not returning until sometime between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. (See number 9!)

Number 3: The laundry calls. . .

Number 2: The dishes call. . .

And the Number 1 reason I'm behind on my blog is:  Facebook is just a much quicker and easier way to share what's going on. . .


Fortunately, I truly enjoy my blog so at some point in the near future, I will pull the hiking post out of my draft folder and then blogging as I knew it will eventually resume. . .  Besides, my kid preached today and was amazing so that will spur me on to get this thing caught up!!!!

Rambling. . .

We spent a little time in Boise's North End last weekend setting up our stage and roof for the Hyde Park Festival.  I don't visit that area very often any more but there was a time 20 some odd years ago that I called it home.  My memories are a little fuzzy but some of the things I remember are:

-Big cracks in the sidewalk
-The smell of the laundry mat a block away
-Hauling an old yellow couch up the rickety stairs of my apartment because I was too stubborn to wait for help
-Driving a blue Toyota Celica 5-speed
-Feeling isolated because I couldn't afford a telephone
-Feeling independent because I could afford the $175 rent
-Watching my sweet old neighbor, Fern, have a stroke in her garden and being the first one to get to her
-Walking shady streets in the fall while pondering the future

I'm guessing I lived in the North End in 1987-1988.  I started in a tiny little apartment with my sister when I came back from a bad experience in California and needed a safe place to land.  At some point we moved in with our cousin just a few blocks away.  I finally settled in with a steady job at Red Steer and found my little upstairs apartment on 13th Street allowing me my first real taste of independence.  I liked it.

We drove around for a few minutes after our set up the other day and looked at my old stomping grounds.  It made me a little nostalgic.  Not that I would want to go back to that place in my life but it's interesting to look back at who I was then and the decisions that I made as a 20 year old that shaped who I am today.  There are a few things I'd like to tell that girl if I could go back in time about choices and decisions from my perspective today but I guess it's for the best that I can't. . .

A Little Busy. . .

Today on the phone I told someone that it feels like I'm still back in August but October is coming up fast.  I can't quite get a grip on the present because I can't catch up with the past and the future is threatening to put me even further behind!!  Here is just a little bit of what I've been up to:


Three days of Art in the Park along with 2 other events weekend before last . . .

And Indian Creek and Hyde Park last weekend. . .

I'll try to fill in the details when I eventually get caught up.  Maybe sometime in October. . .

Mental Vacation. . .

Busy weekend with three events going on.  Got tired of seeing "Reality Bites" on page one so until I can post pics from the back pack trip and the events of the weekend, this is a much lovelier look for my front page!!

Reality Bites. . .

Soooooooo, sometimes it sucks to be the realist in the family.  It's not that I'm a cup-half-empty kind of a person because I think I'm more of an optimist than a pessimist but I have a good memory and protective instincts so sometimes I can pour cold water on Rob's dreams and plans.  Because he is NOT a realist, he does not have a good memory or protective instincts AND he thinks everything is FUN and EASY. 

When Rob and Zach started talking about going on a back packing trip a few months ago, I took the wait-and-see approach that I usually take when Rob comes up with an idea because I refuse to get worked up about something that may or may not materialize.  Well, this time it materialized.  And I got worked up.  Mostly because I'm a realist.  And maybe overprotective.  If it were Rob and someone other than one of my offspring, I would say, "Knock yourself out- take a 15 mile trek into the unknown wilderness along a mountain ridge without any trails, lots of wild animals, iffy water sources, heavy packs, possible freezing overnight temperatures and, by all means, do it in two days.  I'll see you next week."

I know, I'm a bucket of cold water.  I bit my tongue for as long as I could.  I really did.  I bit til it hurt. 

Rob and Zach are grown men.  It shouldn't matter that the furthest Zach walks everyday is across the BSU campus with only his books in his back pack.  It shouldn't matter that neither one of them has conditioned for a long hike in unknown conditions.  It shouldn't matter that no one in our family owns hiking boots or proper hiking equipment of any kind.  It shouldn't matter that Rob had pop tarts on his shopping list.  Ok, that's when I started getting worked up.  I Googled "food to take back packing" and pop tarts were not on the list.  The website had plenty of other helpful information including the importance of drinking lots of water, eating dried fruit and (quality) energy bars and wearing good hiking boots.  It said, "You WILL get blisters". 

I think I might have been ok with the plan if there wasn't a time crunch.  We had to be back in Meridian by 4:00 on Sunday and couldn't leave town until after Zach got out of school on Friday so that was on the top of my list of things-to-be-concerned-about.  To Rob's credit, he spent hours mapping out the ridge that they would take.  He bought a good backpacking tent, sturdy back packs and pepper spray for the wild animals.  He really did spend a good amount of time preparing.  And looking forward to spending time with Zach.  I don't want to discount that at all.  They were both excited at the prospect of planting a Geo cache' on the top of a ridge.  I wanted them to have that experience. 

In the end, time was not Rob's friend.  No amount of planning and talking can trump reality.  By the time Zach got home from school and the two of them started actually loading the packs, the reality hit that the things they needed to take weighed them down far more than either one expected.

By 4:30 Friday afternoon Rob had to concede that they were running out of time and they would have to make a different plan.  He realized that by the time I dropped them off above Silver Creek it would be nearly dark and probably cold.  He didn't take it well.  I tried not to let my relief show because I really did want them to have this experience.  I just wanted them to have it when they didn't have a deadline. 

Plan B was to spend the night at the cabin and then head out on a condensed version of the original hike first thing in the morning in order to at least place the Geo Cache.  Plan B definitely worked in my favor.  We got to the cabin in plenty of time to take a family hike in the midst of Paradise. . .  

We topped off the evening with a rare 4 person game of Catan.  I'm sure Rob would disagree but it was way more fun than worrying about the two of them shivering in the wild. . .

Zach took some great pictures of the hike and, in spite of the switch to Plan B, I think they both had a good time on the hike.  Parts of it might have even been fun AND easy. . .

First Day of School. . .

Gloria has been so ready for school to start! Since Zach and most of her friends started school 2 weeks ago she's been very antsy to get started herself.  I've been looking forward to it, too, since she tends to need a little entertainment and I'm a little too tired to be entertaining! 

I realized last night while I was falling asleep that this will be the first time my house hasn't had a least one kid at home during the day since Zach was born in 1992.  Weird.  But good-weird.  What am I going to do with all the time I'll have on my hands????

Doe, A Deer. . .

I promised a deer picture so here it is.  So much more to say about the weekend but, once again, it will have to wait. . .

You Might Want To Look Away. . .

So we just got back from 2 1/2 days at the cabin and I have a camera full of deer, the river and gorgeous mountain landscapes.  But it's late and I have to be up stinking early tomorrow so instead of posting pretty pictures I have one you might not want to see.  I'll give you a chance to look away after I tell the story by putting the picture wayyyy at the bottom so you'll have to intentionally scroll down to see it. 

So here's what happened: We arrived home around 3:15 and we were supposed to be at the park to set up for an event at 4:00.  I was racing around, getting ready to take a shower when I heard an ear piercing scream followed by Rob yelling something about the cat.  I was afraid the cat must have died in Gloria's room while we were away so I was expecting the worst when I ventured into the hallway. 

The cat was just fine.  Unfortunately, the bird that the cat drug in was dead.  And mostly defeathered.  All over Gloria's room. . .

Ewwwwwwww. . . .

I'll post the pretty deer pictures tomorrow!!

Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda. . .

I really enjoy reading the blogs of other people but rarely have the time.  One of the blogs I squeeze in no matter what is Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda.  She's the mother of a child with Aspergers and she writes very honestly about how she gets through the day with his issues as well as her 13 year old daughter's "normal" behavior.  She's not perfect and I usually can't relate directly but her writing helps me to see other parents and children through more compassionate eyes.  Yesterday's post made me stop and think how I often want to protect my own children from hardships and difficult circumstances.  There's a fine line between saving them and giving them a soft place to land if they fall.  I'm learning to step back and allow my kids to reap both the benefits and costs of their choices.  It's a good read if you can squeeze it in. . .