Colton Moments

August 4, 2009

Ten thousand three hundred eighty feet. That’s the elevation of South Sister - named Charity if you happen to have the right map. Just a week and a half ago I was fortunate enough to climb that mountain. The climbing party represented three generations, four households and ranged in age from nine to 71. Everyone made it to the summit. Even me.
There is now a picture stored on my hard drive of all of us standing on the summit with a string of Cascade peaks rising up like islands on the blue-gray horizon behind us. It was a neat moment for me. I hadn’t been to the summit of that mountain in at least 20 years and that was the most recent of the several Cascade summits I have climbed.
And there I stood, with my father nearby and my kids gathered around.
I had been to those summits because my dad started backpacking with me when I was just 6. Standing on that summit we could see a lot of places we had been together over the years. And we told stories of the trips we had taken at other times, when I was old enough to go without him.
Now, 35 summers later my kids (and my nephews and an extra young man of my acquaintance) are learning this pastime that gave my dad and me so much in common - even at that time (20-some years ago) when I didn’t think we had much in common.
So many of dad’s values followed me as I moved my unused backpacking gear from house to house when the kids were little and I wasn‘t backpacking. It took a few years for me to realize it, of course, but it happened. Now I’m the age he was when we were making those trips together and I’m hoping that my values are getting packed away in the gear my kids are gathering up. They’re already starting to move out on their own and I’m praying that his values that followed me follow them as well.
Besides all that, the trip was fantastic and the view from 10,380 feet is fantastic.