Photographs and Memories: On the Trail with Ben

But what minutes! Count them by sensation, and not by calendars, and each moment is a day. 

–Benjamin Disraeli 

In this season of Thanksgiving, as moments on the 2019 calendar dwindle and disappear, we’re spending some time reminiscing about favorite hikes we shared with Ben: the sights we saw, the memories we made, the trails we traveled together as a family. 

Deer Mountain, Rocky Mountain National Park.

Early and often, we impressed upon Ben that exploring national parks would be far more enjoyable than navigating amusement parks; that meandering the length of a timbered trail would be more gratifying than snaking through an admission queue; that lazing along the Snake River would be more satisfying than wallowing in a water park; that scaling Mt. Rainier would be more fulfilling than speeding down Space Mountain. 

Looking at the Colorado River, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

Ready for Rafting, Grand Teton National Park.

Climbing to Camp Muir, Mount Rainier National Park.

Our family vacations involved lots of footsteps, some huffing and puffing, occasional blistering and blustering, considerable climbing and clambering, sporadic scrambling, intermittent itinerary adjustment, frequent laughter, regular wonderment. 

Resting along the Trail, Olympic National Park.

Winter along the South Rim, Grand Canyon National Park.

High above the Townsite, Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

We marveled at sea fossils on a Montana mountaintop, at starfish in a Pacific tide pool, at stars twinkling in a wide Wyoming sky. We gaped at bleached bones in a Yellowstone meadow, at rollicking bear cubs along a remote roadway, at sea glass on a shimmering beach. We sat side-by-side-by-side and gazed at the promise of a Bryce Canyon sunrise, at the luminous heat of a Sonoran desert noon-time, at the poignancy of a Grand Teton sunset. 

Bleached Bones, Yellowstone National Park.

Lofty Overlook on the Trail, Near Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument.

Resting above the Clouds, Mount Rainier National Park.

Our primary hiking order—single file, Dad-Ben-Mom—evolved as Ben grew taller and discovered that he was a distance runner. In what seemed like a blink of his sky-blue eyes, Ben was in the lead, blazing new trails and, in grizzly country, redefining who laid claim to the title of Fastest Massam. As the calendar pages turned, he began supplementing hikes with long training runs, complicated loops on backroads, out-and-backs on serpentine paths, breathtaking scenery as a backdrop to escalating feats of aerobic strength and endurance. 

Training Run, Grand Teton National Park.

We learned to appreciate the power of Mother Nature and the fleetness of Father Time. Removed from the tangle of charging cords and the twists and turns of electronic accessibility, we valued simple pleasures. We skipped stones, surveyed volcanoes, scrutinized big trees, navigated slippery slopes, munched apples, swigged cold water.

Looking for Skipping Stones along the Merced, Yosemite National Park.

On a Lookout, Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.

Standing with Big Trees, Yosemite National Park.

Our shared hiking adventures helped define who we were as individuals and what we were as a family. It was the three of us, a trio of explorers at Glacier National Park, stopping for refreshment at Granite Park Chalet. It was the three of us, a small but effective mobile hiking unit, pausing to catch collective breath along Hurricane Ridge at Olympic National Park. 

Refreshments at Granite Park Chalet, Glacier National Park.

Trio of Hikers on Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park.

We carried what we needed in our backpacks, in our hearts, in our minds. We lived in the moment, lived by our wits. We were lost, at times, but always found our way—following trail signs, reading crumpled maps, relying on a compass, tracing the sun across unfamiliar skies, through sun and shade and rain and pelting sleet, across desert miles and athwart alpine snowfields. 

Happy Hiker, Grand Canyon National Park.

Posing with Grosvenor Arch, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

But what minutes! In this season of Thanksgiving, we are grateful for the moments, for the days, for the photographs, for the memories. We know that on this next stretch of trail, two of us will journey side-by-side, seeing new sights, making new memories, all the while missing the third… holding him close in our rambling hearts.

Ben on a Run, Crater Lake National Park.