Backpacking at Baker and other Mountainous Things

This weekend we stayed at a cabin at the foot of Mt. Baker. This has been a summer family tradition since my parents sold their boat and began vacationing more inland. It was either mountains or ocean, but always some adventure that brought us closer to nature and our own bodies. Like hiking 10 miles up and down hills. As a child this is very memorable. It is an excellent way to begin to feel almost every muscle in your body, at least by the day after the hike. This is what we deemed summer fun, and I still feel this way! Hiking is a whole new adventure with young children in tow. Heavier for one. More coffee for me too! Also each little and big miracle of nature becomes magnified in its intensity through the eyes of a child. In my case, through Marina's eyes. Being 3 years old, she is exploring everything verbally and physically. She enjoyed asking "Why?" to just about every possible thing. All the way up the mountain. Doesn't this kid nap anymore? I have noticed that it is her way of learning more vocabulary and how to engage in a conversation, so sometimes the whys are asked in such a way that to an adult it just doesn't make sense.

At the top of Skyline Divide (3 miles up, 2000 feet elevation gain) Marina experienced an alpine wild flower field full of smells, fresh cold breezes, and a clear view of snow-capped Baker and many other peaks. She happily walked though the meadow while we all ate our food picking flowers and making mini sized bouquets that met their final resting place all the way back to our cabin on the door step with some sand collected from a hike the day before. It was a delicate matter deciding to let her enjoy the flowers in her own way while cringing at the idea of people picking flowers in such a pristine place. All of a sudden Marina's flower trespassing seemed mild as I saw a whole family tread through the meadow with big adult footprints. Marina's fairy-sized feet paled in comparison! And I had one happy excited fairy fluttering around our picnic barely stopping to eat some food before we headed back down the trail.