Date: 2017-08-07
From: Buttermilk Falls Trail Campsite

To: AMC Mohican Outdoor Center
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: moderate rain

(Don't miss the guest entry for the same date, that precedes this one, but should be read second.)Shall we talk of surprises once again? As you may recall, Frodo¢s and my track record for surprises is pretty spotty. The whole 40th Anniversary day back in June, when we tried to surprise each other and we both failed.  (Frodo: The surprise aspect was a failure, but the time together was great!)This morning was supposed to be pretty straightforward. It¢s 10 miles to the Mohican Outdoor Center, an old Boy Scout Camp where they have a store, grill, and bunkhouses. I am zeroing there tomorrow. Okay, I wake up and the rain starts. It¢s a complication, but not a big one since I have my umbrella. I even manage to get my tent packed up before it gets too wet. But in the meantime, as I walk atop a ridge that normally affords a half-dozen view spots ¢ today there¢s only fog to be seen - ¢¦..Much plotting has been going on. The princesses and their parents have been planning to surprise me. The family had traveled from San Diego to Washington, DC, last week for a conference and they plotted out an intercept path, with Frodo¢s help. She was like radar control guiding a fighter jet. But the target, me, kept changing his plans. ¢Frodo, I¢m hiking a couple miles beyond the shelter because it¢s supposed to rain.¢ (Frodo: He actually hiked FOUR extra miles.)They first planned to get me in their sights yesterday; they¢d surprise me at Culver Gap, at Gyp¢s Tavern. But the van they rented went rogue and they had to drive all the way back to the airport to exchange it. That set them back and so Culver¢s Gap wouldn¢t work. Then the princesses got to bed late and were awakened early ¢ maybe there were peas under their mattresses.Their next plan was to cross paths with me this morning. They really, really wanted to meet me on the trail. They practically bought out a bakery¢s supply of Danish pastries and donuts. I pass the first road after 3 miles, rain heavy on and off. But I have my wonderful cone of dryness. Umbrellas rock.The princesses¢ dad sends me a text. The game is up. I tell him I¢m four miles from the next road, which is also the last road before the Mohican Outdoor Center, so their last chance to catch me on the trail. ¢Two hours,¢ he thinks. ¢I should be able to drive there in two hours. I hope Scout keeps a 2 mph pace.¢ But then little Jessica started throwing up as they hurried along the winding road. ¢Keep going,¢ she said.I neared the road. If they are not there, I¢ll walk on. It¢s raining, after all, and our plan B is to meet at the Mohican Outdoor Center.The princesses¢ van hits the trailhead. ¢Is he past yet?¢ They drive down the road to where the trail picks up again. ¢Did we miss him?¢ They drive back, park the van, and the girls emerge wearing brightly colored rain gear. They open the back of the van. ¢Should we wait long?¢ And that¢s the sight I see as water clouds my eyes: three swaths of bright pink, purple, and blue, Catherine, Sophia, and Jessica. The water is not from the rain. I am so overjoyed to see them. Dot and Franky soon join us. The large apple Danish and 8-inch diameter cinnamon rolls are great. But it¢s these people I treasure.  Here are a couple of photos: http://www.trailjournals.com/j... and http://www.trailjournals.com/j...There¢s a phrase I use, ¢Voting with your presence.¢ Showing up at a friend¢s wedding even if it¢s far away and the timing is inconvenient. Being at nearly every one of my kids¢ cross-country meets, field hockey games, swim meets, soccer games. It means more than pastries or any gift. As difficult as it was, the princesses and their parents voted with their presence this morning, to let me know I¢m important to them and cared for. And I am ever so grateful, and so much richer.The memory of 10 miles in the rain, of my dear green tunnel and the hard-earned but fog-blocked views fade against the memories of people I love who¢d chase me hither and yon, and know I¢d do the same or them.  Here we are, sans Monica, the Princesses' mom (Frodo: That makes her the queen, then, right?!): http://www.trailjournals.com/j...Vote with your presence!