This is the follow-up post to this post.
I returned home a few hours ago with the usual post-vacation blues, which as far as I can surmise, are 100% unavoidable. I’ll get right to the meat.
My expectations were not only met, but exceeded, as far as having a good time goes. We all had a blast, ate well, drank heartily, the weather was absolutely perfect, and the hike was unbelievably beautiful. Overall everything went great.
Of course many things turned out a lot different than I expected. First, although the weather was great and the swimming hole near the cabin was a lot nicer and deeper than I had hoped, the water was ridiculously cold. Too cold to stay in it for more than the thirty seconds or so it took to swim out after jumping in. It would have been really nice if the water were warmer so we could spend more time in it, comfortably.
The walk from the parking lot to the cabin was 1/8 mile and covered in roots and rocks. I completely underestimated how much of a hassle it would be to lug all of our gear, including coolers and food, from the cars to the cabin. Although it was difficult, it wasn’t impossible. Obviously.
I knew the hike would be strenuous, but didn’t think it would be nearly as difficult as it turned out to be. Although I was okay, if I had known it would be that tough I would not have taken Buddy and Rigs, who are old and a little on the heavy side. 1/3 of the way up they were struggling pretty hard and many passing hikers commented on their age, surprised such large, old dogs were attempting the hike. That made me nervous. And when Rigs’ back toenails started bleeding from scraping them on rocks, I became more nervous. I wondered what would happen if he were no longer able to walk, as we had scaled more than 4,000 feet and there was no way I could carry him down the mountain.
But then I looked into his goofy eyes and it was obvious he wasn’t worried at all, so I decided there was no need for me to worry. He and Buddy were total champs and crushed it, although they are still very tired and sore. That was the toughest hike they’ve ever done, the toughest hike they’ll ever do since I won’t be testing them like that again in their old age. Kind of sad, but at least they got the experience, which is one most dogs will never have.
The views on the hike were even more breathtaking than I imagined they’d be. Once we were above the tree line there was a 360 degree view of the White Mountains. I estimated we could see over a hundred miles in every direction on that clear day.
Another factor I didn’t consider is the difficulty of washing dishes and taking care of garbage in the woods. Fortunately we had females with us to take care of these womanly tasks while we men chopped wood and drank, as we should.
The overall idea I had of the trip before it happened was somewhat similar to its eventual outcome, but as I encountered experiences that diverged from my expectations, I took them in stride and didn’t stress too much about any individual hassle.
I’ll be posting many pictures from the hike tomorrow, but for now, here are a few pictures of the cabin, the grounds, the swimming hole, and the hike.
I realize this is basically a personal blog post, like something someone would put on Facebook. The underlying theme is that our future experiences rarely match our expectations, so there’s no point in clinging to them.