Father’s Day
This year’s Father’s Day was the best ever. Because of the Sunday’s nasty weather, it wound up being a full Father’s Day weekend, which probably requires some explanation.
A couple of weeks ago, my wife asked me what I wanted for Father’s Day. Now, I’m not a “Hallmark Holiday” kind of guy, so after a moment’s thought I said, “I want to go out to an early breakfast and go on a family hike.” After my wife asked me where I would like to hike, I said, “Pack Monadnock Mountain“. Pack Monadnock is in Miller State Park in New Hampshire. There is an auto road that goes to the top. We’ve been there quite a few times, but we’ve never hiked up. Now would be our chance.
Since the weather report for Sunday wasn’t looking too good, we decided to do our Father’s Day thing on Saturday instead. That was better because it also allowed us to get into a restaurant for breakfast without battling the Father’s Day crowds. So we got to Cracker Barrel at around 6:30am and had our breakfast. I had scrambled eggs w/cheese, bacon, sourdough toast w/jam and coffee. It was excellent.
From there, we drove to Peterborough, NH and pulled into the lower parking lot for Pack Monadnock. After my wife used the facilities at the trailhead, facilities that were so scary she said I’d be better off going in the woods if I had to, we started off. Immediately, we were met with a choice: taking the Wapack Trail or the Marion Davis Trail. I didn’t have my guide book with me, but I remembered that one of them was only slightly more steep and difficult so it wasn’t going to matter much either way. I chose the Wapack Trail because of its history.
The trail was not too difficult at all. The most difficult part was right after it crossed the auto road. Once we crossed the road, it became steep and rocky, typical New England mountain stuff. At first, I was worried about how my 7½ year old son would deal with it, but he loved it. He just used his hands and knees and just climbed and climbed. My wife was quite overprotective at first, barking out safety instructions as we were going along, but she relaxed a bit more as the trail levelled off and moved away from some of the sheer drops and edges.
The trail to the top is 1.4 miles and we made the summit in 70 minutes. As we got ¾ of the way up, my son started to get tired. While my wife and son rested, I went ahead to see how far away we were. On a previous driving trip, I had hiked part way down to see how difficult the trail was. We were now in a familiar section, so I knew we were close. So, I quickened my pace and made the top in about 5 or so minutes. After dropping my pack near the top, I trotted back down and met them again about 3 or minutes later. From there, we all hiked to the top.
The weather was nice, if not perfect. It was about 10:10 and the sun’s heat was starting up. It was also shaping up to be a humid day as well, but the mountaintop did have a nice cooling breeze blowing across it. Unfortunately, it was also a hazy day out, which affected the view. The southeastern viewpoint from the summit features a view of the Boston skyline 90 or so miles away, but the haze blocked it completely. Even the view to Mount Monadnock 11 miles to the west was affected.
My son was quite proud of himself, and I along with him, for making it all the way to the top. This was my son’s first mountain hike and he did wonderfully. He seemed to enjoy himself most of the time, although he was relieved when we made it back down.
For the descent we took the auto road. It is a shorter route, but it is also steeper. Plus, walking on angled pavement is not as easy as using rocks as steps on the way down. The pavement doesn’t give the way dirt does and walking downhill on such an angle really stretches the tops of your ankles and thighs. It was a shorter route though; we made it down in 35 minutes.
When we got within sight of the parking lot, I handed my pack to my wife and put my son on my shoulders. At 50+ lbs, I won’t be doing that for much longer, but I wanted to give him a reward of sorts. He’s been going through some mental growing pains lately. He’s leaving 1st grade and has been feeling sad about leaving teachers behind. He’s also been missing all the constant hugs and cuddles and all the times we used to constantly pick him from when he was younger.
On our hikes in Harold Parker State Forest in Andover or in the Wendell Brook State Forest from when he was a toddler, I used to carry him on my shoulders from time to time. On one such hike in Harold Parker, when he was 2 or so, he was sitting on my shoulders as we walked through the woods. He sang one of his first songs to me, perched up there, and I taught him some songs as we walked along and we took turns singing them. One song we sang was “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding and I will always remember that hike whenever I hear that song.
And so, putting my son on my shoulders and walking back to the car after his first mountain hike, it was a way of linking the past and the present for me. One door closes and another opens. He’s no longer a baby, nor even a toddler. He’s a boy, growing tall and strong and smart right before my eyes.
I pray to God that we will have many more hikes together, that he grows older with the love and respect for nature that I learned from my father.