Quinn and Sunny took turns leading the way up the old cable route.
Sunny was very excited and only barely tolerated moving at Quinn pace.
I kept Quinn informed of the terrain we'd be facing throughout the hike. Explaining the different legs of the journey helps keep him informed and unsurprised. Still, he did complain a litte at about the halfway mark. It is a fairly steep climb, after all.
At one point an owl soared past us and lit on a branch. We got a good look at it before Sunny spooked it.
Quinn was negotiating terrain like a champ on the way up.
We made the summit within a little over an hour and a half. A solid 1mph uphill is a pretty darn good speed for a 5-and-a-half-year-old.
We wandered over to the back of the parking lot where the other trail comes up to wait for folks to arrive.
About a dozen folks showed up. Quinn and Sunny were very excited to meet more dogs.
We went back up to the summit and waited for the fireworks. We had a great time chatting with the other hikers and getting to know folks. The dogs had a lovely time playing with each other and Quinn. I gave Quinn a lot of sugary snacks to eat in preparation for the hike back down later.
Sunny, the whore.
Sunny & Emma. Emma is a 46er!
Uh oh.
Caught a lovely, if low resolution sunset from the back side of the mountain.
Quinn really enjoyed the fireworks. The fact that they were far enough away for the noise to not bother him was a big plus.
Quinn started strong down the mountain, but soon the bugs assaulted us. Quinn really, really doesn't like bugs and these was the worst swarming I've ever experienced. I've hiked in the dark before, but I've never had insects attracted to my headlamp the way they did that night. I put Quinn's bug hat on, but I had to hold his hand so he could negotiate the descent without falling. The first half of the hike back down was not fun for him, I have to admit.
Once the bugs stopped bothering us, I was able to take off his hat and he asked to stop holding my hand. I told him to lead the way. This way I could shine the light ahead and he could see much better. Quinn did a great job negotiating the terrain on his own after this point. We were in really good spirits for the rest of the hike, even as late as it was.
I was really proud of him. I explained that it was perfectly reasonable to be upset at the first part of the hike and I was not upset with him at all. I promised we wouldn't do a night time hike, at least with a descent, for a little while. He said "Yeah. Maybe when I'm 10. Or 11. Or 13. Or 16."
We finished the hike in about an hour and ten minutes.
After hunting for a service station with an open convenience store along rt 9 for several miles (finally found a Cumbies open just North of Queensbury), Quinn passed out. I knew I was taking a risk hiking with Quinn so late. I think the snacks sustained him. It'll be some time before we hike this late again, but I think it was, in general, a good experience.
