whatever
WEDNESDAY
i wasnt able to type up anything because i was preparing stuff for the trip. wednesday i was productive. i got a call from the asbury park press and some lady wanted to ask me a few questions about my eagle scout project. after lunch i ordered the plate for the project. i also got some last minute stuff for the trip and wrote some quick repsonses to a couple of emails and went to bed early.
THURSDAY
the trip was awesome, for me at least. woke up quarter to six then i went to harriman state park with my brothers and father. we each had our backpacking backpacks ready days before. i had around forty pounds, my dad had about thirty-five and so did my older brother and my little brother had a little less than thirty pounds. we had a bad start, my older brother has no sense of direction so it took about half an hour just to find the right road that branches off to the trail that we wanted. once we were on the trail, i put my headphones on and life was pretty good. by the way, the extreme days cd is to die for. my dad starts to complain about his legs. no big deal for now, we just have to slow down a bit... only my older brother doesnt pay attention to anything so as he led, he didn't look back to check up on dad. so i stayed in the back to watch over him. soon after my little brother falls. the first thing my dad says is, "Chito! Help Chris, he's bleeding!"
ok, two bandaids, some tape and my lucky wristband got my brother all patched up. a few hours later my older brother slips and falls. and so my dad yells, " Carl, your lip is bleeding. Hey Chito, help your brother!"
we continue on our hike until my dad gets this really bad cramp in his right leg. we stop on a hill to break for lunch and for him to recover. i still stay behind with my dad to make sure he's alright. he pushes himself for a mile until we reach a really steep area. thats when his left leg starts to cramp up. now i'm up in front checking to make sure it was safe. my dad screams, "Chito! Help!"
i help him with his leg and lead him to a safe path down. i carry my pack down the steep slope, go back up the slope, and then back down with my dad's pack. i kept going back and forth to carry both packs, mine still very heavy. we finally get to a shelter and we set up camp for the night. i go with my older brother to get some water. that took forever because our pump filter thing takes a long time and we were far from the shelter. once we get back to the shelter i cooked dinner while my brothers pitch the tents. we are about five miles from where we have parked which is long in backpacking lengths for my dad and little brother but an hour's walk for me. after dinner we cleaned up and Carl and i went to get more water. my dad calls home to tell mom whats going on. i check my messages on my cell phone. i have one text from sean, awesome kid. i texted him back. he texted back. it got dark. i listened to more of extreme days. i watched the sun set. stared at the stars and the moon. pondered the meaning of life. pondered the meaning of MY life. pondered the lives of everyone in my life. i had lots of time to think. i named the consolations of the stars. i saw a shooting star. i made a wish. it won't come true though.
FRIDAY
today wasn't too bad. i got up, made breakfast, took down tents, yadda yadda. we kept a good pace, went pretty fast without any problems. got back to the parking lot by lunch time and decided to stick with the plan of staying two nights and we would go a couple miles in the other direction to get to another shelter, only it wasnt there. and the stream wasnt there. so we are on a trail, miles away from the car, less than 50 liters of water for the four of us. we finally hit the road and my dad and i would walk up the road until we got to the parking lot again. he would drive back and pick up my brothers. then we went home. we didnt stay the second night because we were out of water and it looked like it was going to rain. ate at checkers, there was traffic everywhere but we finally got home at around five. i took a shower, ate some fruit and drank some water, unpacked, watch the mask of zorro and then went on the computer. and that was it.
SATURDAY
i'm going to pack for my trip to illinois. i think this is going to be the highlight of my summer. its probably this or the concert at six flags. i will finally install the plate for my project and i'm done. so thats it. i leave with one thought: if a guy can carry more than forty pounds, be a medic to his fellow family members, care more about the people around him than himself, what should this guy become? i thought this dude should be a teacher. some say he should serve his country. i really dont know what this person will become in the future, i'm just glad i know him very well. a person like him should not go unnotice even if everyone around him doesnt notice him or take the time to get to know him.
~superiorman
i wasnt able to type up anything because i was preparing stuff for the trip. wednesday i was productive. i got a call from the asbury park press and some lady wanted to ask me a few questions about my eagle scout project. after lunch i ordered the plate for the project. i also got some last minute stuff for the trip and wrote some quick repsonses to a couple of emails and went to bed early.
THURSDAY
the trip was awesome, for me at least. woke up quarter to six then i went to harriman state park with my brothers and father. we each had our backpacking backpacks ready days before. i had around forty pounds, my dad had about thirty-five and so did my older brother and my little brother had a little less than thirty pounds. we had a bad start, my older brother has no sense of direction so it took about half an hour just to find the right road that branches off to the trail that we wanted. once we were on the trail, i put my headphones on and life was pretty good. by the way, the extreme days cd is to die for. my dad starts to complain about his legs. no big deal for now, we just have to slow down a bit... only my older brother doesnt pay attention to anything so as he led, he didn't look back to check up on dad. so i stayed in the back to watch over him. soon after my little brother falls. the first thing my dad says is, "Chito! Help Chris, he's bleeding!"
ok, two bandaids, some tape and my lucky wristband got my brother all patched up. a few hours later my older brother slips and falls. and so my dad yells, " Carl, your lip is bleeding. Hey Chito, help your brother!"
we continue on our hike until my dad gets this really bad cramp in his right leg. we stop on a hill to break for lunch and for him to recover. i still stay behind with my dad to make sure he's alright. he pushes himself for a mile until we reach a really steep area. thats when his left leg starts to cramp up. now i'm up in front checking to make sure it was safe. my dad screams, "Chito! Help!"
i help him with his leg and lead him to a safe path down. i carry my pack down the steep slope, go back up the slope, and then back down with my dad's pack. i kept going back and forth to carry both packs, mine still very heavy. we finally get to a shelter and we set up camp for the night. i go with my older brother to get some water. that took forever because our pump filter thing takes a long time and we were far from the shelter. once we get back to the shelter i cooked dinner while my brothers pitch the tents. we are about five miles from where we have parked which is long in backpacking lengths for my dad and little brother but an hour's walk for me. after dinner we cleaned up and Carl and i went to get more water. my dad calls home to tell mom whats going on. i check my messages on my cell phone. i have one text from sean, awesome kid. i texted him back. he texted back. it got dark. i listened to more of extreme days. i watched the sun set. stared at the stars and the moon. pondered the meaning of life. pondered the meaning of MY life. pondered the lives of everyone in my life. i had lots of time to think. i named the consolations of the stars. i saw a shooting star. i made a wish. it won't come true though.
FRIDAY
today wasn't too bad. i got up, made breakfast, took down tents, yadda yadda. we kept a good pace, went pretty fast without any problems. got back to the parking lot by lunch time and decided to stick with the plan of staying two nights and we would go a couple miles in the other direction to get to another shelter, only it wasnt there. and the stream wasnt there. so we are on a trail, miles away from the car, less than 50 liters of water for the four of us. we finally hit the road and my dad and i would walk up the road until we got to the parking lot again. he would drive back and pick up my brothers. then we went home. we didnt stay the second night because we were out of water and it looked like it was going to rain. ate at checkers, there was traffic everywhere but we finally got home at around five. i took a shower, ate some fruit and drank some water, unpacked, watch the mask of zorro and then went on the computer. and that was it.
SATURDAY
i'm going to pack for my trip to illinois. i think this is going to be the highlight of my summer. its probably this or the concert at six flags. i will finally install the plate for my project and i'm done. so thats it. i leave with one thought: if a guy can carry more than forty pounds, be a medic to his fellow family members, care more about the people around him than himself, what should this guy become? i thought this dude should be a teacher. some say he should serve his country. i really dont know what this person will become in the future, i'm just glad i know him very well. a person like him should not go unnotice even if everyone around him doesnt notice him or take the time to get to know him.
~superiorman