Sunny 46

I decided to start about two hours before the main group so we could join in the fun at the summit without holding anyone up or pushing Quinn too hard. As such, we were up by 5am. I didn't have to shake Quinn awake; he jumped out of bed, brushed his teeth, got dressed, and fired up his tablet for the drive. When we got to Woodland Valley Campground, the office was closed. We drove back to the trailhead and left a note on our car saying we'd pay later.

We were crossing Woodland Creek by 7:30am, about an hour and a half before the main group was supposed to meet up. We did meet some folks at the campground on our way in and they said they were starting a bit early too. This was wise regardless in order to manage group size. These kind folks actually purchased our parking pass for us a little later and I'm super grateful to them.

The day was muggy, hazy, and warm. It was still cooler than last year's hike up Wittenberg. Also, there was a bit of wildfire smoke in the air, but nowhere near as bad as up North.

Quinn got his trail feet quickly as he and Sunny tackled the initial super steep climb from the creek. I gave Quinn my Buff to help keep the bugs off. I knew the bugs were his main point of contention at "Bug Mountain" last June and I wanted to shield him from that as much as possible.

Quinn began the hike with some play as usual. He tried out a few big rocks, cracked some rocks, and broke some tree bark along the way. Hiking with kids is great practice for adult patience, something I lack from time to time. Maybe a lot of the time.

Quinn and Sunny tackled the big formations in the front third of the hike with gusto. In the beginning, I had Sunny tethered for a bit longer than I usually do. I wanted him to conserve his energy and stay with Quinn.

Quinn was glad to have a dry, flat section after the first bit of elevation gain. The breeze along the ledge was refreshing. We explored the campsite a bit while we were up there and I waited for him to throw a few rocks and sticks.

There was plenty of clean running water along the trail this time. All but one stream bed was flowing as opposed to last time when just the one waterfall was trickling. This time, the waterfall at the 2 mile mark was flowing many rivulets of fresh water. I filteted on the way up and the way down just in case.

I explained the trail to him as we went, trying to make sure he knew what to expect. I told him there would be a muddy section after the waterfall and there may be more bugs there. He was vociferously crestfallen at this news. The insects had been bothering him for a mile or so and he was starting to get cranky even with my buff on. As we descended into the marshy basin near the two ridge junctions, I brought out the bug hat. 

Even with the hat on, Quinn was super annoyed at the bugs. It's not just being bitten that he hates; in fact, that doesn't seem to bother him too much. It's the presence of the bugs and the sound they make that scare him. Still, he perservered... though not without legitimate complaint. "This is the new Bug Mountain!"

Quinn followed Sunny's lead on the more technical climbs. Sunny has a great sense of the path of least resistance and Quinn was learning a lot on this hike. The only time he had to suss it out for himself were the times Sunny decided to just leap up instead of walking.

Quinn did an amazing job figuring out the little cliffs up Wittenberg. Not once did I give him a boost on any of these climbs. There were several times he actually negotiated them better than I did. Anyone with knowledge of this hike knows there are two or three spots that can be legitimately dangerous. I still let him do these without help, but I stood right behind him ready to catch him if he lost his grip. He only took a slide once on the way down, but I had him.

It was a beautiful day, but still muggy, so the breeze on the ledges was refreshing not just for breathing, but to deflect the insects.

After the cliffs, we started tackling all the big steps to the summit. Quinn could smell the finish and was eager to get there. Several folks in our group had passed us on the way up, but we only got a quick glimpse of Emma coming up behind us as we approached the top of the mountain. 

Quinn and I conspired to play a prank on folks at the summit. I let him go ahead of me and when he got there, he said "My Dad went  back to the car!  I'm just joking!" 

Shortly after, the big group arrived and we all cheered and offered our congratulations.

At the summit, I realized I'd forgotten to put my phone on airplane mode like a noob. Fortunately, folks were kind enough to lend me cords while we were up there. However, because of that, I don't have a ton of photos. Fortunately the awesome folks in Allison's group were kind enough to share some photos.

Along with the humans to celebrate Allison,  there were lots of dogs celebrating Emma, so both Sunny and Quinn werein heaven. Quinn tried to eat his lunch while petting dogs which is a daunting task to say the least. 

I pulled out the relax-a chair and had Quinn finish his meal there. When he was done, I evicted him and had him go play. He was a little annoyed that I told him to leave the rocks on the mountain and to not throw them off, but overall he had a nice time. 

We stayed on the summit while a bunch of the group made their way over to Cornell. Quinn was very glad we took the time to enjoy the summit. He actually told me this in his own words later. I also enjoyed the long stay at the top of the mountain, especially since someone brought a bunch of delicious snacks.

Also at the top of the mountain was an inspirational hiker named Margueritte "Itty Bitty". Some of the other hikers spoke with her and they said she's 83 and a 111er, 46er, and Catskill grid winter finisher with numerous Catskill rounds. She'd finished Slide and Cornell and came to Wittenberg shortly after we did. She's truly life goals; proof that if you keep moving, you keep moving.

After a while, a bit before 2pm, Quinn said he was ready to go. I agreed. We packed up and left the Summit before everyone came back from Cornell. 

With my phone low on power, I kept the photography at a minimum on the way down in case we needed the map or phone in an emergency.

Quinn was excited about swimming at the end. He made sure everyone who passed us going down the mountain knew what we were doing at the end of our hike. Quinn is a lot less shy with new people than he used to be. I've been encouraging him to talk to people when a trusted adult is around and he's gotten pretty chatty lately. 

We also passed a pair of NY/NJ Trail Conference stewards on their way up, then passed them twice on the way down (before and after they checked out the cliff-side campsite). They were super friendly and talked with us and others in our group.

Quinn had a lot of fun coming down the cliffs and scrambles. I actually had to tell him to wait for me a few times so I could position myself beneath him in the event of a slip. Like I said earlier, he only had one slip on the way down, but I was there to stop him.

Halfway down the steep section before the basin, he complained about his toenail hurting. I lifted him onto a boulder and took off his boot and inspected it. It wasn't red or anything, but he was whimpering and in tears. I figured his toes were hitting the front of his boot on the downhill as they often do when you're wearing boots too small for your feet or when you don't have your boots tied tight enough. I added a little antibacterial ointment to it for the heck of it and a couple of bandages. I also tied both boots much tighter which I think is what really resolved the issue in the end.

We did stop and rest several times. I had to coax him into eating snacks on our way down. Like me, he just doesn't feel hungry when hiking, but I knew he needed it. We played some imagination games to keep us occupied on the way down, too. 

Emma was very protective of Quinn. She warded off the other dogs when they got too crazy. She is a very sweet and well-trained dog. Allison noted how well Emma deals with Sunny and Sunny acquiesces. I believe Sunny's time with Korra has trained him to understand when he's not in charge and be okay with that. We parted ways shortly after getting together.

I must say by the time we got to the final steep section, his morale was in the toilet. The bugs had been swarming him pretty bad; way worse than me. I think he must be delicious because dogs and insects love this kid. The entire way down, I tried to reinforce how proud I was of him that he'd taken this challenge on and that he was seeing it through, but it's small solace when you're being swarmed like King Kong on the Empire State Building.

He brightened up at the technical descents because it was fun for him. His mood improeved further when we heard the creek below and the breeze was in our face. I was able to replace his hat with the scarf. 

He actually teared up when we saw the trail register at 5:35pm. We hugged for a bit and made our way out.

...and turned into throwing sticks for Sunny.  While we hung out and played, he gave me a hug and said "I love you, Dad." I sure am glad he doesn't hate me after that last mile of struggling. We did chat a bit about hiking the rest of the Summer and we agreed to keep them five miles or less. 

Quinn hid under his blanket while we waited for cell service. We finally found some near Woodstock and Quinn got some tablet time while we drove home. We picked up McDonald's and Stewart's snacks in Saugerties and headed up the freeway home.

My GPS crapped out at the end of the hike again and I think I figured out the problem. It has a tendency to lose GPS when I put my phone next to the Halo. I wonder if EM interference from the big battery pack is what is causing my issue because when I take my phone out and look at it, GPS re-asserts itself. I'll be sure to use a longer cord and keep the two devices separated in the future.

I am super proud of Quinn. I'm not just proud of how he perservered, but how he interacted with the other people and dogs. I'm also very impressed with his physical abilities on many of the difficult sections on this trail. We will keep the rest of our Summer hikes more tame. I do think perhaps he insisted on coming along so strongly because I've been doing lots of hikes on Mondays with Sunny since switching my schedule. I think maybe he's gotten a little jealous, and rightly so. I'll try to make more time on the trail with him on weekends. It is a little tough during baseball season, but we'll try our best to get out in the woods even if it's local.

We had a great time overall. Big thanks to Allison for inviting us and to all her friends for being so kind to Quinn. They were all very encouraging to him on the way down. 

Next weekend is the big one... Pinnacle Traverse. I think Sunny and I are up to it, but I'm still a little nervous.