Great Old Broads for Wilderness

I called my friend Loretta this morning to see if she'd like to go up the canyon with me. It's been awhile since we've hiked together...but she promptly ditched her grandchildren and we met up for a lovely afternoon. Loretta and I used to teach at the same school and we used to having this teacher hiking group called "Tuesdays with Mountains." Every Tuesday there were 4-8 of us who would hike and snowshoe after school depending on the weather. Good times, people! I could tell you so many stories!

Anyway, it was great having Loretta all to myself. I gave her a quick hug and noticed her tee. I was just reading about Great Old Broads for Wilderness and here was a MEMBER wearing their shirt! Had to take a picture! Loretta drove and we had no idea of our destination other than "up the canyon." Well, she stopped at a pullout and she found these frosted leaves on the ground. That's what I love about her--oohs and aahs about all the same sorts of treasures I like to find in the woods. We eventually made it up to the summit and decided to hike a bit although the trail was quite muddy. We were locking the car when she found some Cracker Jack. She was hoping to stuff two boxes in her jacket pocket. I mentioned I had apples in my pack and that we could probably get by with sharing a single box of Cracker Jack. She said, "No, let's take two. That way we can EACH get a prize!" Laughter ensued.

We chatted and rambled and shared stories. We caught up to a family with three small children who were also hiking in the muddy snow. The youngest, perhaps two, was stalling in back and his mother was urging him to keep moving because we had come up behind them. This little kid stopped, straddled the trail with his two year old legs and called out, "Crawl through!" Hilarious! One afternoon was not enough time to catch up, but it was time well spent. We cleaned the mud off our shoes the best we could and headed to Cascade Springs.

Cascade Springs is a soothing place no matter the weather. We walked around and sat on a bench for a few minutes. Then we saw the Alta High School cheerleaders lifting one another effortlessly onto a tree limb. They had a photographer with them, so I snapped a couple myself. Not only did they lift each other with such grace and confidence, but they did it in cute clothing without a care in the world. After pictures, they began to jump down, landing safely and properly as I suppose they've been trained to do. So quick! So young! So beautiful! Perhaps they'll turn into Great Old Broads for Wilderness too one day.

Oh, Loretta, it was a healing afternoon. Thank you for making time for me!