"I'm Not Taking One More Step"

Yesterday, we decided to go hiking. Notice I said hiking and NOT backpacking. I detest backpacking (sleeping on the ground in a tent), but I enjoy day-hiking, partly for the beauty of the outdoors but mostly for the great calorie burn. I feel like I can eat whatever I want when I'm hiking. Our other kids all had to work yesterday, so Seth was stuck going with us.

In retrospect, it was probably a bit ambitious to take him on a 10-mile hike, but that's what we did. Of course we didn't tell him ahead of time it was ten miles; he never would have agreed to go. Instead, we just said it would be a pretty hike, and we bribed him with candy. In Red Lodge there is a huge candy store called Candy Emporium. It has about every kind of candy imaginable, in most cases, sold by the pound. I gave Seth $5 to spend there. You gotta know Seth to fully appreciate this. Seth LOVES candy. This store is like Heaven on Earth to him. He carefully selected all $5 worth, and we were on our way to the trail head, about five miles from Red Lodge.

He did pretty well for the first three miles. The elevation gain was gradual in most places, and he only complained about the steeper parts. At 3-1/2 miles is a small lake, and we stopped there for a break and snacks. At that point, Seth felt he was done. "I want to go back now. I'm done hiking!" were close to his exact words. Our destination, Lost Lake, was but another mile and a half up the mountain. We weren't stopping now. As we got back on the trail, Seth dug in his heels and proclaimed, "I'm not taking one more step unless someone carries me." You should know that Seth weighs 60 pounds and is very tall. No one was going to carry him. I headed up the trail, leaving Seth to negotiate with his dad. Eventually the two of them followed, not without some serious whining from Seth, but they found Lost Lake (pun intended) nonetheless!

At that point, I learned the true meaning of the term "Power Nap." Seth lay down under a tree, shaded with all our sweatshirts over him. I don't know if or how much he actually slept, but he lay there for at least a half hour, maybe a little longer. When he awoke, it was the most amazing thing. He was totally energized, both physically and mentally. He was in a happy, cooperative mood, so happy that he literally ran down the trail ahead of us. We could barely keep up with him.

We are so proud of Seth for doing a full ten-mile hike. I'm not sure many other nine-year-olds can say that. And I learned something too. There are certainly days when I want to dig in my heels and proclaim, "I'm not taking one more step unless someone carries me." Perhaps the answer is a Power Nap.