Climbing the Mountain
Last Saturday, Josh and I took a hike to Kennesaw Mountain. Josh will be 3 years old in a month. He climbed all the way to the top of Kennesaw Mountain all by himself – somewhere on the order of a mile or so hike through the woods and over (big for him) rocks and roots.
At first, he wanted me to carry him because I had his backpack on. But after some encouragement along the lines of “You can do it, you’re a big boy” “You’re making daddy so proud” and “Wow, Josh, you’re such a great hiker!”, Josh could hardly be stopped.
Josh was not the only big hiker that day. Josh was carrying Clifford, the big red dog. Clifford made it all the way to the top without falling to the ground once. I was very proud of Clifford and Josh.
About 50 yards short, Josh would not be kept from a water break, so we did that. And then once we got to the top, we climbed an extra flight of stairs to a better vista and shade and had a lunch of grapes, strawberries, cheese, crackers, and water.
Then we packed the food and trash up, settled Josh into the pack (I wasn’t going to let him fall down the mountain trail), and headed back for home where Josh had a great nap.
During our hike, we made some friends. We met a little boy a year older than Josh named Jack. While we were catching up to Jack, we saw him constantly having his poor daddy pick him up and carry him some twenty to fifty yards before putting him back down. Once introductions were made, Jack learned Josh was a whole year younger and thereafter did not look further for his daddy’s help. I think Jack’s dad appreciated this.
It was all-in-all a great day. I’ve got some pictures to post back here in a day or so of our great outdoor adventure.
Sounds like a lot of fun!
This brought back a lot of memories of climbing in the Adirondacks of New York with our two girls. We climbed Algonquin (2nd highest in NY) when Sarah was 7 and Hannah only 4, and just like your Josh, the girls made it all the way on their own. From that point on they were hooked, and we didn’t stop until eight summers later we all became “46ers” (having climbed the 46 peaks above 4000 feet) together on the summit of Marcy, NY’s highest peak.
These remain our family’s most precious memories. Glad to hear that your starting Josh out with a love for the creational revelation!