Hiking

Jared’s parents came to visit us from Oregon on Thursday night, and we left on Friday to come stay at the cabin for the weekend. We’ve been grilling (yay for our two new books!), eating really, really good southern barbeque, and today we all went for a hike to Linville Falls. The one main trail goes in about .4 miles , and then the second and third trails go beyond that one, with the furthest about another half-mile in. Each ends at an overlook, so we took the first one, heading over to the Upper Falls Overlook. The falls here are small, disappearing around a huge s-curving gorge eroded in hundreds of layers through the centuries. Back out and onto the main trail, and we decided to try for the second overlook, to see the larger lower falls. It was another maybe 1/3 of a mile back, quite uneven, with a steep wooden staircase down to the overlook itself - I snapped a few pics and then followed Elliott back up the hill to where the main trail had branched off down to the overlook.

Ele and I assumed that the rest (Grandma, Grandpa, Jared and Rowen) would be following us, so we headed up the third trail (trusting the sign that said it was 800 feet further ahead). The sign was a dirty liar, and the final overlook was a good third of a mile out. Ele was flagging by the time we got up there, took a few more pictures, and didn’t see the rest of the family following. So we went back on down the trail, and right at the turn-off to the second trail (probably .8 miles out), Ele sat down on a rock like a deflating balloon. His tired little legs just wouldn’t carry him any further.

Still seeing no sign of the family - I figured they had gone back to the car - I hoisted Ele on my back and headed down the trail. He weighs probably 30 pounds, so it was fairly easy going on the downslopes, but definitely got harder as we began the climb back up to where the parking lot was.As I walked, Ele started humming against my back, and I put my arms back, and underneath him to help hold him up. As I walked, I thought about what a privilege it was to have this strength. I thought about mamas - strong mamas all over the world who do far more than walk 3/4 of a mile with a kid on their back - without ever considering that they wouldn’t or couldn’t make it. I thought of magnificent mamas, and their emotional and mental toil over weeks and years in the service of their beloveds. This is simply what must be done, and so it will be done. Mamas, I admire you!

The last 500 feet or so was a really steep upslope, and I will not lie - I was puffing pretty hard by the end of that. But I thought with gratitude of my back grown strong in my years as a mother, and my months working my garden. I prayed a prayer of thanks for my legs, strong enough to carry me AND my small son when his legs would no longer support him. Motherhood seems to me to have been, in addition to so many other things, a school of patience and strength, and I’m grateful for that.

Comments

[Joy]

Yeah for family! Yeah for BBQ (we went to Pappy's when we were down in July)! Yeah for Linville Falls! Enjoy your time.

[Olivia]

My family and I hiked Linville Falls last summer. The falls are inspiring. I am drawn to waterfalls. This year, my sons and I began hiking the Looking Glass Rock Trail. Unbeknownst to us, the trail is a strenuous 3.8 miles to the summit. My sons made it to the summit, but I flagged at about 3/4 of the way up. On the way up, I met another hiker coming down. He was concerned that the boys, whom he had met a few minutes earlier (they were WAY ahead of me!), didn't have water. I didn't either. That hiker shared some of his water with me, and I turned back down the trail to get back to the truck. As I ate an apple and drank some water, I heard the sound of ambulance sirens. An ambulance and rescue vehicles pulled in the parking lot behind our truck. I continued to eat, but I had this "sick" feeling that they were coming after my boys. I told them that I had two sons on the trail. The first responders went up with water and oxygen, not knowing what they were looking for other than an "unknown medical" problem.

Anyway, the first responders did meet my sons, and when they asked the boys if they had seen a female hiker in distress, they told them that I had gotten tired and went back to the truck at the trail head. It turned out that the hiker I had met had gone to the ranger's station and reported that I was in distress. Needless to say, we all had a good laugh with the command chief because I was at that time obviously not in distress.

I am grateful, though, that the hiker was caring enough to report the "distressed hiker," and I am very thankful for the volunteer rescue workers.

[latz]

Yep, motherhood makes you strong in so many ways. I'm about to the point I can no longer carry my almost 5 year old DD for very long. But know she'll contine to snuggle on my lap--my 11.5 year old DD still does every day! I've always told them that they will never be too old to snuggle with Mom. After all I still crawl up next to my Mom and have a snuggle time whenever I get to see her.

[michele in la]

Moms - God did create us to care for our children. It is amazing to see what strength Moms have. I had this conversation with my husband yesterday. His neice is currently caring for her infant son who needs much medical attention and really has no prognosis of living past the age of one. All moms will experience trying times - some much more difficult than others. But it is amazing how well we function and persevere. I tried explaining that we focus on the present - taking care of our child - nothing else matters. We take care of what our child needs now - nothing is gained by dwelling on the future because if you do your best now, the future will come and you will have no regrets. The best prayer is for the strength to do what is needed and that God's will be done and that we have the wisdom to accept His answer. It is often that only when the crisis is gone, do we look back and realize how difficult the situation was and how incredibly strong we actually were!

Your hike proves that time spent with family away from the calls of our modern world is the best place to get in touch with ourselves.

[Hannah]

All the signs on hikes are LIARS!!! I can't count the number of times on hikes out here in WA where the signs and the guidebooks lie!!! See my blog for some scrapbooking about our hiking adventures.

[Christyne]

This is a BEAUTIFUL post Jessica! I just LOVE that you share so much of you with us. You are a true inspiration!

[Debt Settlement Program]

Great headline. If your cookie has a bite-sized action and your reader completes the action, I think two things happen. Their self-confidence goes up (which feels good) and their trust in you increases.