Lone Peak 2014

If you've followed our blog for very long, you know how much we love to hike to our favorite spot on Lone Peak.  It's an idyllic setting near a river and only accessible via a strenuous backpacking trip in.  This was the seventh annual trip for Taylor, Parker and me.  Each of the other years we've had at least one other person come up with us.  Christi has been three or four times.  Christi's brother Matt and my brother Tyler have also been on occasion.  This was the first year it was just us three Green boys:).

We start at about 5500 feet elevation and hike in about 2.5 miles up to around 7700 feet elevation.  For several years we have talked about how fun it would be to make a multi-day trip of it.  We could camp at our normal spot, and use it as a base camp to go further up the mountain.  There's a lake at around 10,000 feet elevation that we've wanted to get to.  It's called Lake Hardy.  So this year we decided to do a three-night trip!  Day one we would hike in.  Day two we would visit the waterfall we always go to and spend some time relaxing.  Day three we would hike up to Lake Hardy.  Day four we would hike back out.

With such a long trip, our packs were substantially heavier than usual.  Parker's and Taylor's were about 42 and 47 pounds, and mine was 55 pounds.  Boy could we feel the extra weight!

Sophi wanted in on the pictures!

Parker is teasing me about the width of my stomach in this one. Thanks, bud!

We got up to camp and started collecting firewood.  Taylor found a piece that my brother, Tyler, had stashed the year before.  Tyler had climbed about 40 feet up into a tree to dislodge a huge piece of dead wood that could have eventually fallen on someone:

Most of our meals were freeze-dried backpacking food.  Just add boiling water and you can quickly have beef stroganoff, turkey tetrazzini, chicken and mashed potatoes, or a wide variety of other dishes.  We had s'mores every night.  For our hike to Lake Hardy, we even packed in a full loaf of bread and some peanut butter and honey for sandwiches.  Delicious!

On the morning of day two, we had one of my favorite moments of the trip.  Remember, whatever we had at camp, we had to pack in.  Every ounce counted.  We strained and sweated to make it up that mountain with the bare necessities of life!  So I found it rather hilarious when I glanced over at Parker and saw that he was APPLYING HIS HAIR GEL!  Seriously, we did not see one other person the entire time we were up there.  A few on the hike up and the hike down, but NOBODY for the duration of our stay.  He does look good in his pictures!  Go, pretty boy:)

On the morning of day two, the boys decided to do a little beautification of our campsite.  They did a really great job!  The leveled out our sleeping areas and even cleared another area.  We decided we could comfortably fit seven people up there.  The boys hope to someday bring their kids and they hope that Grandpa Green (ME!) can go with them:)  We'll see how the old back is holding up at that point.  Here is what the campsite looked like at the end of our trip.  They did a really nice job!

In the afternoon we visited horsetail falls.  As is our tradition, we each got in the water.  Usually I wait until the boys have gone, and not wanting to feel like a wimp, I then follow suit.  This time I was bold and was the first guy in!  Notice the progression on our faces as we advance from anticipation to reality as the cold water hits us.  Pretty fun!

On day three we attempted to get to Lake Hardy.  We had a map and the GPS on my phone.  We easily found the first trail and started along it.  This trail was supposed to intersect with another trail that would lead up to the lake.  We hiked over four miles trying to find the right trail, but unfortunately never did:(  We were able to see some parts of the Lone Peak wilderness that we had never been through.  We were also treated to some beautiful views we hadn't seen before.  We were disappointed and pretty tired, and for awhile, we got pretty discouraged as well.  Fortunately, a good dose of humor helped our spirits rise.  Every year at Lone Peak there is some sort of mishap or funny story.  From a lost sleeping bag, to keys locked in the car, we have a memory that we enjoy from each year up there.  This was the year of the cairn.  

Towards the beginning of our hike, we had come to a bare granite face.  The trail kind of disappeared here and we searched for where it picked up again on the other side of the granite.  Fortunately, there was a small cairn marking a path.  We began down that path with high hopes.  In order to help some future traveler, Taylor added to the cairn, making it more clear.  What a helpful young man!  As we followed the path, it started to head downhill instead of up and also away from where we needed to be going.  But it was such a clearly defined trail, we thought it had to be the one on the map.  It's very difficult on a paper map to clearly explain the three dimensional surface of a mountain.  We figured the trail might have to go down and through a ravine before it started to head back up .  We followed it for almost two miles until we finally became sure we were on the wrong path.  By this time, we were pretty bummed.  We sat down and had lunch by another river and decided to head back.  At this point, my phone battery died, so we no longer had GPS.  We knew how to get back to camp, but we were really struggling to find the path to Lake Hardy.

As we headed back (and UP) towards where we had come from, the boys pretty much decided that we were too tired to look for the Lake Hardy trail at this point.  Even if we found it, it was another 1.5 miles and 2000 feet elevation gain to get to the Lake, and we were already pretty worn out.  But I couldn't quite give it up yet.  After backtracking over a mile, I saw a place that might be a path.  I told the boys to give me 10 more minutes to see if I could figure out the right way to go.  With renewed energy, I started up a small ravine.  Bare granite surfaces made it hard to tell if there was a path, or just a small wash from runoff in heavy rains.  I hiked out of sight of the boys, continuing to circle around.  I was about to give up myself, when I found several cairns marking a trail!  I was so excited.  I called to the boys at the top of my lungs:  "Come up here!  I found some cairns!  This must be the trail!"  They dutifully made their way up to where I was.  "Look!"  I said.  "Look at these cairns and this clearly defined trail!"  Taylor gazed at it for a moment with an almost dazed look.  Then his face screwed up with a sort of tormented rage.  "I built this cairn!  It's the one  I built!!!"  Then, as he kicked one rock at a time off of the pile, he repeated, "I put THIS one on.  And THIS one on.  And THIS one on!  This is the cairn I built!!!"

We all stood there for a moment in silence.  Then the humor of the situation hit us and we all began to crack up.  It made for a terrifically light ending to a day that had been going downhill (no pun intended:) fast.  We tried to look at the bright side of things.  We were on our favorite mountain, camping with no responsibilities, spending time with one of our favorite groups of people.  We decided to try for Lake Hardy again next year and headed back to camp as we continued to chuckle about the cairn:)

Hard to tell from this angle, but these logs were about 10 feet above a river.
Mom would have been nervous watching her boys cross!

The cairn!

During some exploring, the boys had found a really great swimming hole on the river near our campsite.  It was icy cold, but still made for a refreshing end to a long day:

We finished up the day with some card games and a great dinner.

Thanks so much, Christi, for letting us have a wonderful trip together.  We created memories that will last a lifetime!

-Jer

Happy Birthday Taylor!

Can't believe our firstborn is 15 years old!  He is anxious to get his driver's permit.  He'll be in high school this year.  He continues to amaze his parents with the joy he brings to our family.  We love you, Taylor.  Happy Birthday!  (OK, so this would have been better if I'd posted it on July 4th, but it can get kind of crazy around here:)

Jer

Timing

We seem to have a knack for lousy timing.  Christi developed vertigo while I was still in Beijing on the way home from our trip to get Cali.  Thinking it might be a stroke, she rode in an ambulance to the emergency room. Graci got the flu, had a precipitous drop in blood pressure and had to be life flighted while I was in Colorado for a sales meeting.  Two weeks ago, Jesi broke her foot while Taylor, Parker and I were in the Lone Peak Wilderness with a minimum two-hour backpack trek out.  

Tonight is the last night of Christi's trip to New York.  She is on a plane home as I type.  The kids and I had just had a family council and planned the rest of the evening.  It would consist of trying to put the house back together before mom got home, me making a yummy dinner (egg mcmuffins!) and some relaxation with a Cosby show to end the evening. We closed with a prayer, went to our respective assignments and promptly heard a scream of pain from Xander.  It seems a chair jumped out and mugged him.  So here we are in the emergency room.  We haven't seen the doctor yet, but I'm guessing 3-5 stitches will be in order.

What is it with us and emergency room trips when only one parent is present?

Jer

Finally!

Guys generally lie about their height.  Measured with no shoes on, I'm 6' 1.25".  I can't tell you how many times some guy has told me he's 6' 2" while I'm looking down at least three inches to make eye contact.  I guess there's some leeway when you consider how much difference shoes can make.  I generally say I'm 6' 2" as well, which I am on a basketball court.  Regardless of how you measure, Taylor recently hit a milestone he has been pining after for a long time.  He is now taller than me:)  I must admit it's strange having to look up when I'm talking to him.  Way to go T!  I look forward to tracking your blocked shots next season!!!

-Dad

Oh, Elli...

Conner's piano teacher in China is also a world-class performer.  This evening he is performing at a piano festival in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  With such a rare opportunity to visit with someone from his home town, we decided Conner should attend the concert.  Taking Graci along as an interpreter, Christi flew out with Conner on Tuesday.  Christi's sister, Leslie, and sister-in-law, Megan, are also with them.  They figured if they were going anyway, they might as well go a few days early and stay in New York:)  So they are there, and I am here, parenting eight kids on my own.  They left Tuesday afternoon and will get back tomorrow night.  Fun trip!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Elli has definitely kept things interesting!  I was actually at scout camp with Parker on Monday and Tuesday, and didn't get back until 1:00 AM Wednesday morning.  Christi was already gone and her parents were staying overnight to watch the other kids until I returned home.  About 8:10 on Wednesday morning, Sophi woke me up.  I looked at the clock and suddenly realized that Elli's school bus would be arriving at 8:15.  Absolutely zero chance of getting her ready in time.  So I took the walk of shame down the driveway and told the driver that as a result of mom being out of town, the next five days would be absolute chaos and would she please forgive me for not having Elli ready.  She did.

I got Elli ready for school, which has a significantly different result from when Christi gets Elli ready for school.  The primary difference is in the hairdo.  I got here there an hour late for a three-hour summer school session, but it really is good for her to get the interaction with other people.  Thursday morning, you can bet I had her ready on time!

Elli loves to play the piano.  When we first moved in, we purchased a used electric keyboard and put it in her room.  It took her less than a week to completely destroy it.  She pulled it over, we set it back up. She knocked it sideways, we put it back.  She used it to create deep new designs in the drywall and we finally removed it.  It's completely hashed.  We then let her play the piano we had in the exercise room. (I know…exercise room?  We're still settling in, OK?)  I put a lock on the door, and we now had two rooms that would work to keep her in: her bedroom and the piano/exercise room.  Only problem?  The exercise room is right next to Taylor's and Parker's room and it started to drive them crazy having Elli pound away at the piano.  So we decided we would move the piano to the play room.  But there's no door on the play room, and letting Elli play on the piano there would be a recipe for disaster.  What to do?

Aha!  Let's put an actual piano in Elli's room.  A keyboard is no match for her destructive powers, but a solid piano would resist her wiles.  We found an old studio piano for only $300!  It actually played well, but it was pretty beat up and needed a couple of hours of work before it would be ready for Elli.  One of the key things it needed was a mechanism to lock it at night so Elli can't start playing when everyone's asleep.  I had the piano delivered on Thursday afternoon.  I didn't have time to do all of the work on it before she went to bed, so I put on a simple latch to keep it shut.  It was one of those spring-loaded eye and hook systems.  I put one on both side of the key cover and thought it would foil Elli's attempts to get it open.  Boy was I wrong!  I made the mistake of letting her play it for a few minutes, thus alerting her to the fact that there was a piano in her room.  She enjoyed it, and even posed for a picture:

When I locked it and tried to tuck her in for the night, she went absolutely bonkers.  She was SO mad that she couldn't get into the piano keys.  She cried and raged and cried and raged.  Finally she settled down and went to sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, I walked out of my room and into the kitchen.  Parker asked, "Did you hear Elli playing the piano this morning?"  Uh-oh!  I hurried down to her room and found this:

Like I said, it needed some work before Elli had unrestricted access to it.  In addition to pulling the keys out of place, she had also pulled off the little felt circles that go underneath each key and chewed on each, dusty, nasty one.  One of many reasons for the title of this post!

Parker jumped in and volunteered to fix it for me.  It really didn't take too long:

Once the keys were back in place, I put Elli in the exercise room with some toys so I could finish the work on the piano.  In conjunction with the piano in her room, we moved the other piano out of the exercise room.  Once again, Elli was raging mad to go into the room where she was used to a piano and not find one there. Poor girl.  I spent a couple of hours fixing it up the new one and putting on a better locking system.  when I went back to check on Elle, she had torn apart much of the SofTiles floor:

With the piano fixed, Elli was VERY excited to get back in her room and play.  She loves having it in there.  I let her go in her room and she made a beeline for the old ivories.  I left her in there for awhile, forgetting a very important rule:  Never leave Elli alone if she's dressed in clothes she can remove!  Sure enough, when I returned, she had removed all of her clothing including her diaper.  Let's just say I had a nice mess to clean up.  I carried her upstairs to the girls' bathroom for a bath.  Elli usually loves bathing, and this was no exception.  Early on in our tenure in this home, Elli took apart the drain plug in that bathtub.  At first she would unscrew one particular part of it and put it in her mouth during every bath.  (This would also drain the tub on her, but she never seemed to figure out the correlation.)  Finally, she lost the part, and the plug no longer worked correctly.  If you set it gently in the right place, it would do a reasonable job of keeping the water in, but with Elli in the tub, it would not stay there very long.

So I put her in the bath and started it.  While it was filling I unloaded a bunch of groceries I had just purchased.  I went back in to check, and the water was above her belly button.  She generally enjoys soaking in the tub for awhile, so I turned off the water and went down to clean up her room.  A few minutes later I hear Sophi start yelling for me.  "Dad?"  "DAD?"  DAAAAAAAAD!!!???!!!???!!!"  This is not an uncommon experience, as once she realizes she doesn't know exactly where a parent is, Sophi tends to freak out.  I called back, "I'm in Elli's room."  I heard her make her way down the stairs and through the hallway.  She walked in:  "Elli's taking a bath with no water!"

So I interrupted my delightful cleaning project in Elli's room and took on the delightful task of bathing her.  In the end everything got cleaned up, Elli was wearing a onesie that discourages disrobing and I got dinner on the table.  Is it bad that it was almost 8pm before I fed my kids?

Anyway, with Elli around, there is always something to do.  Boredom is not a problem for the parents of kids with special needs!

-Jer

A few bonus pics of Elli:

-At church, trying to drink like Soph?

-Chillin' in the pool:

Dressed up for her school play:

 

An alternative to bathing?