by John McKnight
With the current snow conditions and the inherent steepness of the trails in the North Cascades I opted to take my 5-year-old daughter to the Olympic Peninsula instead. I hate the long drive but the rewards at the end are well worth it. And being familiar with the trail on the North Fork of the Quinault I knew exactly what to expect and where we could camp. The fact that the 2.5 miles to our destination at Wolf Bar was relatively flat and scenic would help her enjoy the hiking experience as well.
My 5-year-old daughter hits the trail. PHOTO BY JOHN McKNIGHT
At the trailhead we booted up and slung on our backpacks in quick order, ready to hit the trail. A few cars down a young couple busily sorted through reams of gear trying to figure out what to take. They were obviously heading out for a longer and lengthier stay, but I had to chuckle to myself. I will never understand why anyone would arrive at a trailhead without everything packed up and ready to go. I followed behind the little blue “Go Bananas” backpack and we headed off down the trail.
We were starting later than I had hoped but had plenty of time for the hike. Still I was a little worried at the distance and had planned to have lots of opportunity to rest and play if necessary. After about 100 feet she slipped out of her backpack and handed me “Go Bananas” to carry. I expected this and had packed it extra light, but now carried ALL of our gear. Maybe I would be the one that needed to rest and play.
Unencumbered she motored right along. Pausing frequently to look at the seeds on the bottom of fern leaves by the side of the trail, or to sit on a log to “rest” she never stopped long. In fact once I realized the “rests” were more about being dramatic and lasted less than a minute I stopped urging her to just keep moving. And there was nothing wrong with taking a minute to stand still and catch my breath.
We found a nice camp spot by early evening and after setting up the tent and getting a nice little fire going, settled in for dinner. That’s when I realized that I forgot her can of Spaghetti O’s. I wouldn’t normally take a can of anything you can’t drink hiking, but this would have been a worthy exception. Nonetheless I had a small box of tomato soup and that went over well as a substitute. Even then there was enough time to fish and explore a little before dark.
There was plenty of wood close at hand so keeping the fire stoked and toasty was easy for a change. We stayed up too late by the fire that was too hot to sit close to before snuggling into our sleeping bags to sleep. And before saying goodnight I asked her to make sure and get me up early so we could go fishing. A night to remember; and one I hope she will hold onto for many years to come.
Sure enough I woke to a grinning face telling me to get up so we could go fishing. I tried to beg off and get her to rest with me a little but she was determined. Pulling my sleeping bag off me she insisted it was time to fish so get up already. I did, and we decided we’d fish before eating breakfast to get the morning bite.
Bait is no longer allowed in the National Park, so I had bought her some pink artificial worms and some red artificial eggs. They are supposed to be scented so I thought she’d have a fair chance of catching something. Just to be fun I used the pink worms too. Neither of us had any luck but we did have plenty of fun. Finally giving in to hunger we put up the rods and cooked pancakes on my little camp stove.
All along I had mentioned we could hike out after one night, but each and every time she insisted we would stay for two “sleeps.” Which was fine, but I wanted her to know that we had options and could do pretty much whatever we felt like when we felt like it. We spent the rest of that morning fishing and playing then went on a mile hike and had lunch at another spot on the river. Then after getting back and hanging out in the way too hot tent for awhile she finally gave in and said, “Daddy, this is the part I don’t like… I miss mommy.”
She had tried to be so big and tough up until now so I quickly reassured her that it was OK and that I missed mommy too. And this time when I asked if she wanted to hike out she said yes, but not right away. I agreed that we had time and didn’t need to hurry so we enjoyed the rest of our time getting our gear together and helping each other pack up.
On the trail out we made great time and she carried the “Go Bananas” backpack almost all the way to the trailhead. In the end we caught no fish, the only wildlife we saw was a snake and a toad, and we ended up staying only the one night, but what an experience. The summers are short these days and filled with things to do, but there is always time to spend with your kids. And I think for now I may have been the one to benefit the most. No reason to “Go Bananas” now, I’m all good.
John McKnight has been exploring Whatcom and Skagit counties for over 25 years. He can be e-mailed at john@foothillsgazette.com.