Trail Talk 2017

Little Crow Mountain.

"When we used to take hikes with kids, we didn't spend all of our time talking about the 46 or talking about mountains. We talked about our favorite movies, we talked about TV shows we loved, or our favorite baseball team. Because we were in this setting, we started to grow a great appreciation for being in the mountains... Two hours later they're sitting on top of a mountain going 'This is great!'". - Tim Singer, (The 46ers Film).

Kailee and I talked about a number of things while on the trails this year. From what was going on around us, to what was up with her friends and school, and the many thoughts going on in a Seven year old's mind.

We also had a number of recurring exchanges. This post is a way for me to look back at some of those memories down the road... But, I don't mind sharing this inside look into our sometimes very goofy moments in the woods.

Pokemon

Kailee is a big fan of Pokemon... And, I must admit that I enjoy playing the games on occasion. While hiking, she created two of her own Pokemon: Geraldine and Carldeen. The latter evidently evolves into the former an they are both Ghost and Water dual type critters.

"Deen! Deen! Geraldine!"

"Carl... Carldeen."

Jay Higgs

This is Jay Higgs:

Jay is the self proclaimed "Sultan of Snacks" and his generic brand food products can be found on the shelves at Save A Lot. At least one of his snacks could also usually be found in our backpacks for the majority of our hikes in 2017. No bones about it, I'm a big fan of his bacon jerky.

Anyway,  Jay became a character that we both voiced. Our version of Mr. Higgs has a really annoying, high pitch, nasly voice. Jay would lament and get upset if we brought another brand of snacks with us. When Jay got excited, he often let out a little bark.

"Did you just bark Jay?"

"Who meeeeeeee??? Noooooo... Noooooo... Noooooo, I didn't bark."

"You barked Jay. You barked."

The Emojis

Whenever one of us got a little ahead of each other or slightly out of view (or had to go off the trail to goto the bathroom) we would shout out a cheery "Hello?"

It's become a common practice for us on the trails.

At some point while descending Catamount, Kailee decided that those voices belonged to Mr. Smiley and Miss Smiley.

"I'm Miss Smiley and I'm an emoji."

 The number of emojis quickly grew from there.

"I'm wearing sunglasses! I'm the cool emoji!"

"I have a red face and am very mad. I'm the angry emoji" 

"The poop emoji is the number two emoji!!!"

I can attest, there's nothing quite like yelling that last one to the people near the Summit of Round Mountain from the middle of the col between it and Noonmark.

In hindsight, I guess these interactions gave us moments of familiarity while on unfamiliar grounds. Silly moments that kept the mood light in 2017. I'm looking forward to where the trails and conversations lead us in 2018.

Cheney Mountain.