If You Could Hike With One Person....
The question is usually phrased, 'If you could pick one person now, or in history to hike with, who would it be?' Outdoor enthusiasts may pick someone like John Muir. My Pop is my number one choice. After all, he has always been the reason I hike.
For all the times you waited with me while I struggled up a hill, out of shape and out of breath. I would wait for you. Come hike with me and tell me another story about hiking with grandpa or Uncle Mark.
Your encouraging words, which animated in my head the lakes and mountaintops yet to be seen, still resonate there. Now, there are some places I have been and I can explain them to you in equally exciting ways.
I can remember the bedtime stories you would tell, teaching me what to do if I was lost in the woods. I tell those same stories now, adding new ones about you and I on a trail to some amazing place called White Pass.
I am your mirror pop. What you once loved to do is now a passion that I am showing your grandkids. We often talk about the trail you built at the Ranch. Those girls, upon arrival, run straight for it, rambling down the switchbacks and taking in the views all around.
I wish that your leg didn't hurt so much pop, but I understand. "It's hell to get old kid!"
Happy Father's Day
By Rudy Giecek
