Tuesday, July 14, 2009

KEEPING UP WITH BRY

... so the day we arrived in Sitka the sun was shining ...
it was 2pm and about 70 degrees
almost unheard of for Sitka!
... although they've had a great summer ...
and as we walked around town, most locals
were sporting suntans
so Bryan and I thought
"who knows how long the rainclouds will stay away?"
and we donned our sneakers to go for a hike

not just any hike

Mt. Verstovia
this is where bryan chose to do his
EAGLE SCOUT PROJECT
and completed it just 1 week before we moved
his project was to make and place
elevation and distance markers
at 3 points along the trail
the project took him over 6 months
the FOREST SERVICE required that he use
already fallen cedar logs
for the markers
and that they be place alongside the trail, partially buried
so they don't detract from the natural beauty
the logs were
DANG HEAVY
so bryan enlisted the help of another government agency:
the US COAST GUARD
and their mighty helicopters
to fly the log markers to the peak and drop them off

cuz anyone who hikes to the top of Verstovia
knows that it's enough just to hike it -
carrying a couple hundred pounds of log would be
WAY TOO MUCH work
coordinating 2 government agencies is the reason his project took so long to complete

Bryan is an avid hiker
he comes by it honestly
Bryan, his Dad & his brother were made for the outdoors
so the #1 DESIRE of Bryan
was to head back up the mountain and check on his markers

just like childbirth, it sounded like a good idea before we started
and was fulfilling after the long soak in the tub that night
but honestly:
IT WAS GRUELING
for me
a PIECE OF CAKE
for Bryan
(note my red face and frizzy, wavy hair ... this was HARD WORK, I tell you!)
Bry's cousin, Joshua, joined us.
He took up the rear
(to make sure I didn't topple backwards just to get out hiking, I'm sure!)
Besides the unmatchable
fragrant, CLEAN air;
the sounds of eagles, squirrels, and ravens;
and the
UNMATCHED BEAUTY of the place,
hearing Bryan ahead of me on the trail
as he'd come upon one of his markers
only to find it had weathered well the past 2 years
with his WHOOPING cheer
well, that was priceless
I'd hike a million miles
up a million mountains
to experience that over and over again with Bry.

3 comments:

Jonas, Dohnele, and Emma said...

That's a really creative and helpful project! I haven't been up that mountain in a long time, so I've never seen them, but I'm sure I'd really appreciate them if I did!

It's great that you're back in Sitka for a bit and enjoying the heck out of it!

Gage said...

sweet!

Ashley said...

Thats AMAZING!!!!!