My husband has taken each of our kids along on a backpacking trip in Colorado. Mary Polly’s big climb was Mt Blanca in the summer of 2009.
This summer has been a whirlwind of adventures. In June, Cole went to discipleship camp with Taido and 80 other middle school students. Mary Polly went to Chicago with my mom to visit my sister and her family. Then she was home for one day before leaving to go on the College Backpacking Trip with Taido. Soon after Mary Polly arrived home from her mountain adventure, Cole flew out to spend a week with my sister’s family at Castaway Club, a Young Life camp in Minnesota where my brother-in-law was speaking for the month. Meanwhile, Ben headed to Kentucky with Taido on the high school mission trip.
We were finally all reunited in the Smoky Mountains for our first extended family camping trip in five years. Seventeen of us huddled in the rain under my daddy’s “magic tarp.” Whitney is currently posting pictures of this rainy adventure, so I’ll share the treasures Taido brought home from Mary Polly’s first backpacking adventure.
My daddy has been leading backpacking trips for longer than I’ve been alive. Of course, Taido is equally passionate about the mountains, which has always made for a strong bond between the two of them. Cole got to go on this trip several years ago and I was nervous about whether or not he would be up to the task. Carrying your gear uphill every day for a week can be pretty rigorous. He had a great week with his dad and Grandpapa though, so I was very excited for Mary Polly to get to have her turn.
Still I was anxious for her, especially for “peak day,” the day the campers wake up before dark to climb to the top of a fourteen thousand foot mountain. It’s a huge accomplishment in my book, and I will never forget the first time I stood on top of my first “fourteener.” I was 15.
Mary Polly will be 10 next week, and the first time we got to talk to my dad he said she was climbing like a mountain goat. I love these pictures where she seems like she is right at home on the trail.
She looks a little tired in the next one. She is actually on the top of Mount Blanca. Woohoo!
This next one is a shot of the view from the camp at which they spent most of their time. Looking at these pictures makes me wish I had gone.
The tent in the background is the little two-man tent Taido bought for he and Mary Polly to sleep in on the trip. That man never misses an opportunity to acquire a new piece of gear!
Of course there are always a few overachievers who have to grab a second peak. Mary Polly skipped out on the second peak day, while Taido, Daddy and a few others climbed Little Bear.
This climb is looking a little more technical to me.
From the top of Little Bear, you can see the camp by the lake. So far away…
My husband and my daddy! I love these men!
The climbers who wanted more! All these guys climbed Little Bear.
Above is the view of Blanca from Little Bear. This picture of Mary Polly and her daddy makes me feel like this is a memory she will treasure forever and ever. I’m so grateful that she got to be a part of such a significant experience.
There were just a few brave gals on the trip. I was thankful for each one of them!
Little Bear under a rainbow.
how fun! this brings back memories to when taido took us backpacking through the Olympics way way way back when…:) and despite taido’s “excuse” to acquire new gear, all i gotta say is not staying in a tent alone (esp w/out a rain-fly) is a good idea :D…so i’m glad she got to bunk up w/ her daddy! glad you guys had a great summer! ~jerm
Great stuff. Although, please tell Taido to either get on his knees, or stand up right for all pictures…the first thing that popped into my head was ‘dorf on golf’. (you might need to google to complete the mental image).
[…] and Mary Polly have both gotten to tag along on one of these grand adventures, so last summer was Ben’s […]