Remember all those different blog posts about our trip to Colorado last summer?
I guess I got a little burned out on mountain pictures, because I neglected to put these up from Ben’s inaugural backpacking trip.
My dad, Taido and Bobby take the graduating seniors backpacking every summer before they head off to college.
They climb a big mountain and spend a week away from the world, telling their stories to one another.
Cole and Mary Polly have both gotten to tag along on one of these grand adventures, so last summer was Ben’s turn.
Ben’s trip was different from Cole and Mary Polly’s in that one has the option of reaching the base camp of Windom Peak by train.
I’ve never been on this train before, but it looks amazing.
Here’s the group of seniors, all clean and fresh on their first day.
Ben carried a daypack similar to the one both Cole and Mary Polly carried on these trips, with Taido carrying the rest of his load.
I always worry a little about the kids when they are gone in the mountains with the men. I have no idea how they are holding up or if they are whining for their mama.
But everyone said Ben did great.
He made a new best friend that he hung pretty close to throughout the week.
Meet Blake.
Love these pictures of Ben. He’s looking rough at this point in the week.
Also, I had to include this picture of Daddy doctoring a blister with moleskin, because it is something he has done about one million times on these trips. Always prepared.
It’s always considered a major trip accomplishment for the whole group to make the summit! Exciting!
Taido and his partner in crime, Bobby.
Taido only had one taker for Extra Summit Day: the day when you get up while it is still dark and climb ANOTHER mountain.
Blake was game. Here he is on top of Mt. Eolus.
I know Ben will treasure the memory of this week in the mountains with his dad and some other pretty special guys for many years.
he got to ride a train and climb a mountain… y’all make keeping up with the chinos exhausting!
Hmm…I’m thinking Taido left out a minor little detail in his telling of the week to you. There was a 3rd peak that the two of us grabbed together. You may wanna find out about the top of that one!
And Ben was a stud on the trip. No doubt about it. Almost as strong as MP!
Oh he told me about it.
And he has already pointed out that I neglected to mention that he climbed THREE mountains that week.
But there’s only this one lame picture of you holding on to a rope.
uh… there was nothing lame about that climb. we needed a rope for goodness sake!
[…] when I was going through backpacking pictures from Ben’s trip to Colorado, I realized that I have all these pictures of Cole’s trip in 2006. Since that pre-dates […]