And fatherhood enters the teen years… This is where you go from being a hero and being best buddies to taking somewhat of a back seat in the boy’s life so he can start to find his own way. I struggled mightily with this!! I am clinging to the childhood years where we spent lots of time together camping, fishing, and laughing. It’s so hard to let go and let him walk his own path, especially when you know mistakes are being made, and can be avoided and redirected if he would just take your word for it. But alas they must find out for themselves. You just keep saying what you hope to be the right thing and hope that some of it is sinking in, although it seems as though many of your words fall on deaf ears. I’m grateful for the times we have spent together and that I got to bring him up my son on camping, much in the way I was brought up, and hopefully building memories that will last his lifetime. Lots of laughs and talks around the campfire, lakes and oceans along with my brother and his family mostly, occasionally with my mom or dad and a few others in my family joining in, and Wilson-The best camping dog EVER (did I say that already?) I know in my heart it has all made a difference in Chad’s life in the big picture, although at times it seems hard to find any positive impact you have had. Still you must have faith in yourself and in your children that you have done right by them and they will find the answers on their own and know they can always come to you for guidance in times of struggle. Still this leaves a rather large hole in my own existence. Life changes and you have to find a way to change with it. I get it! I was a teen too once and sacrificed weekend visits with my dad to find my own way in life amongst my peers. Deep down I know the boy cherishes the times we share even as they become less frequent. In the meantime, my brother has also had his set of challenges to deal with bringing up his younger kids and found himself with less time to spend camping. As for myself, I missed it more and more. I continue to struggle with letting go, but as I say, there comes a point where you find a way to change with life’s changes.

Fast forward a few years: I have been able to drag the boy, now a young man, away from his world for at least one camping trip a year, so that’s good that we can still hang out sometimes. On a few occasions, we visit my sister and her family at her cabin on the lake in the Adirondacks, a place I have found to be a great escape from the stresses of everyday life, and somewhere you can just reconnect with nature and exhale…..aaaahhh.
It was on one of these trips to the cabin that I remembered something from my childhood that inspired me to see the world for first time all over again through different eyes and make these connections to the earth around me a priority.

On this trip, I traveled alone as Chad had work obligations, and my sister couldn’t meet me there until later in the week. So I had the place to myself. The silence was profound! It calmed my soul to the core… just me and the lake …with a duck here… a bird there… a chipmunk there… and the occasional boat paddling by with a wave of the hand from those occupying it. I could sit here for hours…for days…for weeks and not get sick of it.

Well eventually hunger called and I took a break from the view to fix some lunch inside. A huge wall map of the Adirondacks caught my eye, and then a series of trail guides and trail maps on the shelf. I started reading a bit about the surrounding area, and figured why not try a short hike? It had been many many years since I had set foot on any trail but I still had vaugue memories of those times. A quick text message to my sister led me in the right direction for a suggested route.

. As I started the climb up this small hill leading to a lookout tower, memories of earlier mountain hikes came flooding back. I even slipped once and told myself “CAREFUL”(see post on hiking as a youngster for reference) …When I got to the first outlook it hit me. Wow! I forgot how I used to love this! Why did I ever stop?

When my sister joins on the last day of this trip, along with Simba (the bst Lakehouse dog EVER) I share with her my revelation: That does it! It’s settled! I’m getting myself back in shape, and I’m gonna do this every chance I get, and I’m getting back to the mountains even if I have to do it solo. There’s nothing wrong with a little solitude and tranquility! In fact it’s just what the doctor is ordering at this point.

  So that’s exactly what I did. Every weekend, and soon almost every day, I tried to do some sort of small hike, even if it was just a local trail. Slowly I would try to extend the hikes more and more. A coworker of mine got me into mountain biking too and I took to it immediately. This was a completely different experience and a new way to enjoy the outdoors. The more I did these things, the better I felt. I discovered more and more of these local trails and I found that surprisingly these little gems were pretty frik’n gorgeous too. You don’t have to drive 3 hours to find beauty after all! But still, I knew that’s where I ultimately wanted to be, back in the White Mountains hiking in the clouds once again. I had been researching different hikes and decided I definitely want to start with the Franconia Ridge Loop. I hear it is among the best views in the whites by far! So why not start out strong?

In most cases, pulsatile cialis generic from india tinnitus sufferers are in need of digital picture recovery. generic viagra from usa This is made of Sildenafil citrate. They dissolve very quickly and enter the man from the viagra shop usa rear. It makes family cialis cheap no prescription bond weak, friendships becomes sour and relatives link fall apart like never before.  

So I gradually amped up the inclines and eventually built up to

where I thought I could try at least Monadnock to start. First time up felt great! I just went on a whim without any planning.
It was around 10am when I decided to make the 2 hour drive, but I remembered it was a short climb so I wasn’t too worried about hiking in the dark.
I made it up the White Dot trail in 1.5 hours and was greeted by some spectacular 360° views and then felt like I had returned home from a long journey!  I went again on father’s day, this time with a much earlier start, as I had started that from camping at Greenfield State Park. Once again, Chad was not able to join me, but I have come to accept this by now, and am at peace with it. I will keep putting the offer on the table for him, or anyone else for that matter, to join me, but I can’t deprive myself of these experiences just because of scheduling time with others to share with. I am perfectly ok going it alone, but always glad to share the experience as well. Flexibility is pretty huge lately in all facets of life… Actually at the last minute my Mom is able to join me for the campsite part but is not in hiking condition so we will catch up at days end around the campfire. For now, upward and onward up Monadnock for me with the woods to keep me company.

Monadnock Video Link

This time I make it up White Cross then down the longer less traveled Pumpelly to Cascade Link with great photo ops along the way on a picture perfect day! Joined back up with White Dot and back down to HQ inside of 4 hours, but still feel like I can do more, so I head up Parker Trail and Cliff Walk to Bald Rock. I’m feeling pretty good about myself at this point. This is the final tune-up before my return to the Whites. I head back down Lost Farm Trail and make my way back to camp. A successful 6 hour climb! My legs feel like spaghetti but I am ready!!
Fast forward a few months… It is August 16^th 2014 and it is finally happening! Me and Chad are on our way to the White Mountains where we will meet up with my brother Sean and his son Dylan and spend the weekend camping at Lafayette Place campground in Franconia Notch!

   

That’s right I was able to round up the troops just like old times! Well, minus one key player: Wilson our favorite camping buddy and Sean’s best friend had passed away back in February and we will miss him dearly. Still I am pumped to share this experience with 3 of the Coste Camping Crew! It’s a bit of a drizzly forecast but Sunday looks to be perfect weather. Our plan is to check out all the major sights in the area together over the weekend (Flume Gorge, Bose Rock, Old Man site, Echo Lake, The Rec Trail/Bike Path, and just hang out at the campground along the Pemi) then on Sunday, me and Chad will hit the trails to the ridge loop! Chad has not been on a climb since he was real little, but I am not worried. He has been hitting the gym hard and is in fantastic shape! I feel safer having him with me, especially my first time up, and I am so excited to share this experience with him!

I would soon find that the mountains have a way of changing your plans and teaching you something in the process: In this case, even before you set foot on the trail.

It is Saturday late afternoon and has been great weekend as planned although a bit wet, but we have camped in much wetter. It is so great to be back in the mountains- I love it here!  Chad is as psyched as I am to do this hike tomorrow. We are getting ready to start a fire and fix dinner. I suggest a quick ride down the bike path to Chad before we settle in. I had my bike and he had a skateboard. The path is real slick from the rain that had fallen and we are heading over a wooden bridge when WHAM- I turn around to find that Chad’s board had slipped out beneath him and went flying down to the river below sending Chad to the deck. I help him to his feet, and grab his board, then find out he is pretty hurt and had twisted his ankle pretty good. We limp back to the site to ice it down get some Ibuprofen and rest it up. As the night goes on his foot doesn’t get any better so we come to the conclusion that we may very well have to save the trek for another day. We would see how it feels in the morning but agree that it isn’t wise to push an injury and make it worse. Sure enough, the next morning he is having trouble even standing, so as disappointing as this is, we postpone the hike. Chad is visibly upset, but I assure him that this could be a blessing in disguise. We will return on peak foliage weekend, which will make for an even more amazing hike. As corny as it sounds there really is always a silver lining behind every black cloud. We end the weekend with a consolation prize: a tram ride up to the summit of Cannon Mountain. At least we got a mountaintop view. This would not be the last time the mountains would change my plans… still I am so thankful to spend this great weekend with my son, brother and nephew in this amazing landscape. See you in October.