Chapter 14 Section Fourteen

At that time, it was almost one thirty.Kate packed her lunch and put it in the small refrigerator.There are chicken, beef and peanut butter sandwiches, as well as soft drinks, apples and small packets of chips. Except for the apples, Jason was gobbling everything else, just like Patty and I had been when we were kids.We saw the splash of the fish in the lake, but we decided to go back and get our rods out again.Now, there are many things to do, such as go on an adventure.We packed our lunch trash into a bag, locked it in the car, and off we went.Around the lake, we walked to the left. "I remember there's a cave up there." I pointed to the top of the quivering poplar. "It's got to be that high."

Patty shouted to Jason who was running ahead: "Do you like climbing mountains?" "I don't know!" Jason turned to look at us while continuing to run. "I've never climbed!" "You're going to love climbing!" After walking about a hundred yards, we came to the other bank of the lake, and found a stream flowing into it. The creek, which flows down from the melted snow on the mountain, is too wide to jump across.So we followed its cascading water through the quivering aspen grove, sometimes so loud that we couldn't hear another. Although we were now three thousand feet higher than the five thousand-foot Denver we were used to, the thin air didn't slow us down.If anything, it's an energy boost, like a vitamin inhaled.I stretched my legs and climbed up fallen trees or scrambled up and down boulders, feeling so comfortable in my body that I beat myself up for not taking time out of work to try hiking before.

Across the creek, there was a deer moving above us.Its brown shadow stopped nervously near us, then ran gracefully over the trunks of the white quivering poplars.I think it was because of the roar of the brook that it could not hear us approaching.It must have smelled us.Another shadow jumps nervously. There is a third one.Even with the roar of the brook, I heard their bloated stomachs gurgling. Before long we came to a high narrow depression from which the stream cascaded, too dangerous to enter.We turned left and walked up a steep, hoof-printed trail.The trail stretches out to the left, following a wooded slope that maintains the same level.So, when a ray of sunlight appeared above us and caught our attention, we decided to check it out.Getting there is much harder than it appears.Time and time again, Patty and I slipped and fell on the loose rocks beneath our feet.We rolled under rocks, bruised our arms and legs, and would have broken if we hadn't managed to hold on to exposed roots.But in contrast to us, Jason hurried up like a mountain goat.

Patty and I wheezed to the edge of the canyon and found Jason waiting for us on a broad stone slab.The slabs were pre-positioned just to see the creek below us and the churning canyon.We were two hundred feet above it, far enough away from its roar, far enough that I didn't have to shout to remind Jason. "Stay away from the edge." "I will," he promised, "but, my God, this is so pretty, Dad!" "Better than watching TV, huh?" Patty said. Jason thought for a while, and an expression of "I won't go that far" appeared on his face. Patty smiled.

"Where's the hole you're talking about?" Jason asked. "I just can't remember," I said, "all I know is that it must be on the left side of the creek." "Can we find it?" "Of course. We'll look for it after we've rested for a while." I sat down on the stone, untied the water bottle from my waist, and took a long gulp of the warm, slightly metallic taste of unusually delicious water.The park ranger I was on the phone with emphasized on the phone that we needed to carry some water bottles and backpacks with a range of supplies, a compass and a topographic map (I don't know how any of these work), a first aid kit and a Raincoats in case the weather turns bad.

"Wear layers," she advises, "and put a dry jacket in your pack." I had already put on my windbreaker before leaving the car.Walking keeps me warm now, and I take off my jacket and stuff it into my backpack. "Anybody want peanuts and raisins?" I asked. "I'm pretty full from lunch," said Patty. Jason looked uncomfortable. "What's wrong?" I asked. "I have to……" It took me a while to figure it out. "Pee?" Jason nodded coyly. "Go over to that pebble," I told him. Hesitantly, he disappeared behind the pebble.

I watched him for a while, as a parent should, and then took a few steps forward to enjoy the view of the canyon.The creek tumbled down to form a series of low waterfalls, and the water splashed.How did Jason paint this scene? "Is it good-looking?" He was right, it was indeed too good-looking. Behind me, Jason suddenly yelled, "Dad!" Something slapped me on the back so violently it took my breath away.I slammed down and fell into the canyon.