It is a sunny day today, although Mt. Baker is clouded over. Last night I hiked in with a group from Oak Harbor High School two miles to Anderson Point, where we set up our tents, collected firewood and then enjoyed marshmallows around the fire. This is my third year to help chaperone this trip.
The past two years there have only been a few girls but this year there are seven, almost half of the 15 students. Usually I know many of the students from middle school but this year there is only one. But regardless, they are a lovely group, kind and helpful and caring for each other. Perhaps I am just too used to the middle school meaness but I have watched really with surprise the acceptance of the LGBT boy and the ADHD boy and how truly compassionate and kind everyone has been.
This morning I stayed in camp to watch things while the rest of the group hiked up to Maple Grove. The trails are all in good shape but it is obvious as I look at the previous years pictures that the snow levels are very low. I am sitting looking across the lake and trying to pick out landmarks. Unfortunately the map I am using is a blurry photo copy but I think I can see the ridge Park Butte is on.
Three years ago I came as a chaperone because I was getting into backpacking and I wanted an easy first trip. Now I look at the landscape and this area is becoming mine because I have hiked so much of it. I often feel that I don't hike as much as I'd like but sitting here reflecting I realize how much I have seen since I began. And I still feel the same joy and wonder. This morning when I got up I took my coffee and my camp chair down to the lake and as I sat drinking my coffee and gazing across the lake my eyes welled up with tears at the quiet beauty that surrounded me. It sounds so corny but it is true. And so although this trip is no longer much of a challenge for me, I am happy to come along and invest time with the next generation of backpackers, teaching them tricks I've learned, Leave No Trace ethics and getting to hang out with a great group of young people.
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