I began to laugh, but noticed she didn’t think it a funny question.
“I want to climb all those mountains you talked about and be a member of that club…what’s it called again?”
“The 46’ers,” I said, referring to the 46 peaks of the Adirondacks above 4,000 feet of elevation.
I had told her how I was planning on taking them all in eventually – I have summited 34 to date – and she, looking for a long-term, physical challenge, was interested.
“What will you be bringing up there that you’ll need a Sherpa to carry?” I asked.
She laughed and said, “I need someone to show me the way.”
Well, that could be true. I told her what she already knew, that I go up there several times a year and plan to go this fall to walk the Northville/Placid trail, which is around 140 miles.
“I’ll be climbing the Seward Range on that trip. It includes for trailess peaks I haven’t been on yet. Those are peaks without marked and maintained trails so it’s best to go with someone so you don’t get lost. I think John and maybe Paul will be joining me on that trip. You’re welcome to come along,” I said.
I gave her the information on the book and corresponding trail map she would need, ‘High Peaks Region, 14th edition, by Tony Goodwyn, to execute her plan, but also promised to bring in some literature she could begin to read that described the region and helped people looking to get into hiking, camping and climbing in the Adirondacks discover the best approach to take. If she is anything like me, having this kind of a goal, something that will likely be executed over several years, will do so much to maintain focus on getting and staying fit. That, and lead to a discovery of the beauty of this region and the serenity it has to offer.
I picked Heidi up after work and we drove back to my place to get Dakota and do our hike. “I’m tired and only want to do about two miles,” she said.
I needed another 9,000 steps to hit 20,000 for the day and would have none of that. I figured I walk out until I hit my halfway point – two miles away – before she’d be onto me. We started out, gabbing away about everything under the sun and were almost to my turnaround before she noticed what I’d done.
“You cheated, dad. We’re walking a lot farther than two miles,” she said.
“Oh…did you say two? I heard five,” I said.
Which is what we did.
We went to ‘Larry’s Tavern’ in Akron for dinner where I told her more about my plan to walk the North Country Trail. “You can come and meet me on parts of it since it walks right through Ohio,” I said. She thought it was a much better plan than being all the way out on the west coast doing the Pacific Crest Trail.
Jack called as I was heading home and we had another interesting conversation about ‘badass’ flyboys in the military (I reminded him how my lifelong friend, Todd Miller, had been a Blue Angel pilot in his day), Jordan Peterson, what freedom in America looked like today, and minimum qualifications for the Commander in Chief ought to include.
“I’m not comfortable with an actor or sports figure being able to become President with no kind of formal training or experience. I would hate to think that a General could get to that level of command without being completely qualified to give orders and lead men,” he said.
“And yet, you’re arguing against what you just said about having freedom and how it is dwindling in the United States as compared to the rest of the world,” I said. “You’re suggesting that the population doesn’t have the right to elect whoever they want – like, let’s say, Donald Trump.”
“Well…I’m just not comfortable with a lack of qualifications for that job. Being 35 years old and born in the United States isn’t enough for me,” he concluded.
We agreed that we’d have to come up with those minimum qualifications and talk about it some more. That young man continues to impress me. Maybe someday he’ll be on a ticket for that job. I’d vote for him.
Bonus: 21,000 steps
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