Pass the Advil®
This last Saturday morning I woke up with the distinct feeling that I — wait for it — nothing to do. My first post-graduation weekend, and there was simply no responsibilities in my way that day, other than get the Bugs to their birthday party at 3 in Issaquah. Ames was off to hit some kind of baby-stuff sale in Bellevue, and with the weather being so nice, I decided to take a celebratory hike up to Rattlesnake Ledge with the boys.
The trail up to the ledges is nice and wide, and if you had to, you could get a jogging stroller up 95% of the way. It gains about a thousand feet over the two miles to the top, so it’s not a killer. We’d gone on various hikes with the boys before, but always pretty short and nothing with a payoff as nice as Rattlesnake. We loaded up and the three of us walked up past the now-shallow lake and into the woods.
We took small breaks every 10 minutes or so, and at the one mile mark we sat and enjoyed the view overlooking the lake. Starting back up, I suddenly found myself with Ben on my shoulders, and Ian sandwiched between my pack and my back, with his legs threaded through the packstraps. We marched up like this for another 15 minutes and hustled through the steep section, already looking at the clock. At about 100 feet below the top, both boys were back on the ground and the three of us walked out onto the ledges and shared a few appropriate high-fives and whoo-hoos. (I snuck in a couple hugs.)
After a few pictures and a shared Powerbar, I put Ben back on my shoulders and Ian bounded back off down the trail. We soon saw that time was getting short, so I stuck Ian back into place on my back and we continued running down the hill, much to the amusement of our trail neighbors on their way up. To keep things interesting, Ben became Underground Man, Ian was Force Man, and your narrator was Strong Strong Man. Don’t ask; it’s a phase.
We made it back to the car exactly 3 and a half hours after we started, and with exactly 3 and a half times the smiles. Almost late, we hustled home and into the tub, dressed, and back out the door on our way to the party of the year to celebrate both boys’ birthdays.
5 days later, I’m still feeling the twinge in my neck and my knees. It’s a good thing I’m in such good shape. Remember when I mentioned that knee-shaking feeling coming back? It’s here with a vengance, and it’s good.