Thursday, August 28, 2003

Poughkeepsie Journal

Mother/son rock Mohonk scramble

Glenn and the Mountain
Darryl Bautista/Poughkeepsie Journal
Glenn Geher of New Paltz poses with the Mohonk Mountain House in the background.
In mid-July, my mother Roberta (age 55) came to visit my family in New Paltz. My mother does not have a lot of outdoor-adventure experience, but she tends to be up for anything. She had never seen the Mohonk Mountain House, so on this visit I planned on hiking up to the mountain house with her.

We hit the trailhead at 7 a.m. on a perfectly sunny Saturday morning. By about 8, we made it to the mountain house. As always, it was stunning and awe-inspiring. My mom loved it. From the mountain house, I pointed up to the Smiley Tower that sits atop the mountain. I told her that I remembered a slightly challenging -- but short -- rock scramble up to the tower. My mom indicated that we needed to get back to my house as we had plans, but she was easy to talk into this one. Her sense of adventure overpowers her eternal diligence at times.

We headed up the ''labyrinth.'' I had not done this scramble in more than two years, but I didn't remember it being too long or challenging. Of course, I'm 33. In any case, I was now seeing this hike from the perspective of my mom. The scramble seemed to go on forever. Each section was more challenging than the last.

On multiple occasions, you have to hoist your whole body a good four feet up onto a boulder with just your upper body. Many sections of the scramble include holes that drop at least 15 feet. None of it was easy at all!

Every single part of this trail that seemed impossible for my mom's 55-year-old body ended up being perfectly surmountable. A half-hour from the start of this scramble, we were at the top, right at the base of that unforgettable icon of a tower.

When we reached the top, we met a young couple sitting. They were impressed that we took the labyrinth; they had taken the carriage road. They were impressed that my mom made it and commented that I must be a good guide. They thought I was a paid guide working for Mohonk. Further, they thought my mom was some rich, adventurous lady who would pay a guide to take her up that scramble. That was funny! My mom liked that one.

We then climbed to the top of the tower and we'll never forget it. And yeah, we were a bit late when we got home.

-- Glenn Geher, New Paltz