To the top, Three in one

Today was our last full day at the Waldheim so we wanted to make sure we did something significant.  We decided to go hike to a fire tower that is the end of a roughly 1 mile hike.  My dad and step mom did this hike four years ago during their last visit.  To get to the trail entrance required driving on a dirt/stone road for quite a while.  We also were a little unsure of the exact location of the entrance but eventually came up on it.

The seven of us began the hike knowing dad was going to have to take a slow and steady approach.  Just before we started I decided to use the outhouse that was at the entrance.  Even using exclusively mouth breathing it was rough.  It felt like the stench was so bad it was melting my skin.

This hike was easily the most challenging we had done the entire trip.  It was steep, significantly steep at spots.  The good thing was 90% of the hike was in the shade.  For most of the ascent I was up front with Cadence who wanted to just go, go, go.  She has so much energy, she constantly wanted to jump off and over logs and rocks.  I had to do my best to make sure she didn’t get hurt in the process.

After somewhere close to an hour we arrived at the tower which is over 100 years old.  Sure the original one was built of logs, later replaced the metal version standing today, but it was still cool.  All of us climbed the tower, opening the windows at the top to take in the beautiful scenic views.

Paul is not a fan of heights to begin with.  He also had to scale the trail and the tower with Kennedy on his back which made things more challenging.  He was a trooper and even ascended a second time while Teresa watched Kennedy on the ground.

There was a rock formation behind the tower that Cadence and I checked out.  She wanted me to climb the tall face of it which was a challenge for me that I felt I had to take.  A couple brush burns on my knees later, I was successful.

The hike down hammered the front of my legs, by the time we returned to the parking area my body was pretty beat up.  My dad showed up maybe 10-15 minutes later and got engaged with a conversation with a “Summit Steward” that new everything about the tower and the trail.   I hoped the drive back on the dirt road would feel shorter but it drug on for a looong time, once again.

When we got back Meg, Paul, and I decided to go out on a canoe, all three of us on one vessel.  Paul was at the front and the primary locomotion for the canoe while I was the rudder man at the back that also paddles as needed.  Initially I had no clue how to properly rudder the ship but eventually I figured it out.  We paddled over to a cove area and just floated around drinking alcoholic beverages and shooting the shit.  I made no sun precautions which was dumb, but I still had a good time.

When we got back we came up with a funny idea where Paul and Meg would strap in life vests and then float down to the beach area, allowing mostly the current and wind to carry them.  Paul also had another beer in his Yeti holder for the journey.  He wasn’t thrilled when Meg started actually swimming towards the beach instead of just floating.  The girls showed up to watch and it turned out to be a pretty comedic experience. Paul’s only regret was he didn’t discover the joys of floating in a lake with a life vest sooner.

We had our last dinner of the trip.  Everyone “dressed up” which for me meant just not wearing a t-shirt.  It was a good meal to wrap up the week.  Tomorrow we have one more breakfast here before we shove off for a 6-7 hour drive back to PA.  It’s been a great trip filled with unique memories I will carry for a lifetime.  I am also still looking forward to getting back to SWFL to see Elsa, Kathy and all that is part of my core existence. It’s been fun….