Climbing
Mount Monadnock was no easy feat as we soon discovered. This would not take 20
minutes and we would not eat lunch until we got to the top. One of the reasons it was so hard was because
there was no path, only rocks. Big rocks. There were two main trails up the
mountain. The White Dot trail and The White Cross trail. You could tell which trail
you were on because there were white dots or white crosses painted on the rocks.
We took the white cross trail because my father said it was less steep. My
father had gone to Mount Monadnock for a school field trip when he was in middle
school.
We
had been climbing for a while now. Almost an hour. Like everyone else I was hungry, tired and
disappointed to hear we still had a ways to go. Correction. Like everyone else,
EXCEPT Ella, I was hungry, tired and disappointed to hear we still had a ways
to go. Ella was enjoying herself thoroughly hopping from rock to rock like a
little mountain goat. I think it was because the woods around the mountain were
so serene and quiet, two of the things Ella likes best.
I
thought I could never look at a white cross again when my mother saw a tiny wood frog. Let me just say the wildlife
situation on the mountain was pretty bleak. The only animal we had seen was a
brilliantly blue beetle and later many black grass grazer crickets. Eager for something to take my mind off my throbbing feet, I caught the frog immediately. In my cupped hands, it scrambled around in them. It felt slimy. I opened my hands a little and its head popped out. It had big golden eyes. They looked like
beads. My sisters crowded around. Ella tried to pry my hands apart. After my
mom took a few pictures, I opened my hands, put it down and it hopped away.
We
were getting close to the top. I could tell because there were less trees. According
to legend, the early settlers had burned the trees at the top of the mountain
so many times that they never grew again. The top of the mountain was bald.
Bald, bald, bald, bald, as bald as a ping pong ball. Another reason I could
tell we were getting close to the top was because the trees didn’t congregate
in groups, there were large gaps and through the gaps you could see the entire
forest below you. The view was exhilarating. You were so high! It was like
being in an airplane with a glass bottom. It made me fell like the world was
expanding.
By this time I was crawling on the rocks .
There were no longer rocks, just massive flat rocks. There was less a chance of spraining your ankle and more of a
chance of slipping and breaking your neck. I was crawling because I was bone
weary. My legs felt like they were made of lead and my feet felt like bricks. I
was also hungry. It had been at least an hour since we had snack, a few granola
grains. We weren’t allowed to eat until we got to the top. As a prize for
reaching it, my dad had bought three chocolate covered Oreos.
After
lots more climbing we came to a cairn and a sign. A cairn is a pile of rocks
that are signals you are getting close to the top of Mount Monadnock. The sign
said: Bald Rock ahead. It also said: Do not expect to be rescued. Bald Rock was
not the summit. It was just a bald rock. Anyway, I could see the summit. A tall
rock, like Mount Rushmore without the faces. I sucked in my breath and we began
to climb it. It was so amazing looking down. And then we were at the summit. We ate lunch and got our promised Oreos and
looked down on what felt like the whole world. 
The
way down was like the way up except all the pain was directed at our feet and
legs. It is not worth describing because the practice of going up had helped us
get tougher and the way down felt easier. Compared to this, the Baker Sanctuary
ground is as smooth as a ballroom floor. Getting to the parking lot felt like a
cinch compared to our treacherous and tiring route up. I was so glad when we
saw the parking lot. Lucia was practically kissing the ground. Being on top of
the mountain was amazing, but I prefer being safe and sound on the ground.
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