Saturday, September 25, 2010

Glass House Mountains, Episode II

We have had a week of school holidays here in Brisbane. That means Mary had the kids all week and she was happy to let me take them all day today while she had some time alone.

Since I am a man of limited imagination and I was still feeling good about the hike I took with Cole, it seemed reasonable to kick it up a notch or two.

A woman I work with climbed Mt. Tibrogargan recently and said the route was suitable for the kids. At 364 metres, it is not much taller than the last one we did and it looks fun. I packed enough food and water for a four hour hike and we were on our way.

The route was very reasonable, until we reached the section in the photo above which is fairly steep and crosses the line between scrambling up rocks and actually climbing. It required me to leave one child unsupervised as I climbed behind the other one. I sent Cora up first; a decision I soon regretted as I heard her cute little voice going back and forth on the rocks above while Cole and I were ascending. The entire time I was shouting "Cora! Sit on your bottom." To which she was replying "Ok Dad!" while roaming around close to the edge.

When we made it up to a flat spot I was surveying the next stretch of rock (and wondering how my co-worker ever thought this was kid friendly):
and I looked down to see that my shoe decided to cash it in.
It was really weird because these shoes have faithfully served me for at least six years and when I put them on this morning there was no indication that they were going to self destruct. I am still a fan of Asolo boots and would like to extend a 'grazie' to any of their fine craftsmen reading this in Italy.

Moving on. I took out my knife, performed surgery on the sole, and spent the rest of the day hiking around in just the boot which is further testament to the solid construction of the shoe.
The kids ate an early lunch while I pondered our circumstances. I am sure we could get to the top with enough time, but it wasn't going to happen today.

We successfully got back down, with the aid of another hiker who was looking for an excuse to perform a good deed. Since we cut the climb short, I took the kids on a 3 km circuit around the hill and properly wore them out.

Here are a couple photos of my favorite tree of the day:

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Pregnancy Diary: Entry 1

Mary: "I really want meatballs for dessert."

Saturday, September 18, 2010

But Anyway

Cole: "Is that a flute dad?"
me: "No buddy, that is a harmonica."

I think John Popper just blew the minds of my children. They are running around the living room like their ears are on musical heroine.

I put on some Blues Traveler for cooking music and was suddenly transported back to Pat and Molly's wedding. After the reception, we went to an open-air concert at a park somewhere in Boise. I don't have a photo, but just imagine Pat and I in our rented tuxedos. Molly was in her wedding dress and we put her on our shoulders so she was floating above the crowd.

It was beautiful and spontaneous and a cherished memory. I was blessed to be part of the marriage ceremony for two of the coolest people I know. Blues Traveler always brings me back to that time.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Glass House Mountains

Cole and I used to do a lot of hiking with my friend Pat when we lived in Portland. Pat usually selected the destination and navigated - both things I am not good at. I would throw Cole in a backpack and we would see what the world looked like from a higher elevation. Our most memorable adventure was climbing the South Sister when Cole was two.
One of the benefits of Pat is that he was a safety valve and a get out of jail card in the decision making process. I could say something to Mary like: "I would like to take Cole up a mountain above the tree line." and Mary would look at me like I was crazy. Then I would say: "Pat is coming along" and suddenly it was acceptable.

The target for today's journey was Mount Beerwah. It is part of the Glass House Mountains, which are really a bunch of hills on a flat plain. They are volcanic plugs of mountains that formed 26 million years ago and have long since eroded away. Beerwah is the tallest of the group at 555 metres and it has 'beer' in its name--both very good reasons for the selection.

We learned at the visitor's centre that the hiking trail for Mount Beerwah is closed due to rock slides or something equally trivial. I was figuring out the risk of hopping the gate, wondering if I could find another trail and calculating the odds of snake/spider/ant encounters if Cole and I picked our way through unmarked bush when the spirit of reason descended upon me and I asked the question: "what else do you have available."

Plan B: Mount Ngungun
At 254 metres, it is half the climb I was hoping for, but portions of the trail involved scrambling up slopes and some sections offered few footholds on the way down. It was a good way for Cole to get experience and develop confidence. It is also the first hike we have done where he walked the entire way and I didn't have to carry him on my shoulders for part of the trip.
We ate a picnic lunch at the top and surveyed which hill we were going to climb next. He has his sights on Mount Tibrogargan.

After the hike, we hopped in the car and drove to our favorite beach at Mooloolaba.