“When are we going camping?” Georgia demanded.
Knowing the drill, I said, “In two weeks we’re going to Baxter’s cabin on Mount Hood…”
“How long is two weeks?”
I held my hands about twelve inches apart, “This long.”
“OH! That’s not too long at all!” she said, satisfied.

It’s been like this for a couple of months. So when she asked again last week I was able to say
“…in two days!”
“TWO days! That’s not long at ALL!”

And then when it was “Tomorrow” her excitement could not be contained, she climbed all over me and did the overly-happy dance that ends up with the cat getting twirled in a circle.

Then she stopped and declared, “There aren’t any bears in Mt. Hood because there are no bears in Portland.” We have always assured her there are no bears or wolves (or werewolves or monsters) in Portland, and I wanted to lie to her to ease her mind, but instead I admitted, “You know, I am really afraid of bears, and I know there are bears on Mount Hood, because it’s not the city, it’s a wild area, and there is wildlife there.” I didn’t tell her about the bobcats or the wolverines. I continued, “I was worried, so I looked up what to do if we came across a bear. And I found out that bears are shy of people, and that if we make a lot of noise while we are hiking around the bears won’t want to come around us anyway.” She seemed fine with that and decided she would take some noisy instruments, just in case.

On Friday we packed up and headed out to “the mountain.” The drive to just under the timberline took less than an hour and a half, even with a stop for the best donuts east of the Willamette. Hova and I kept noting how beautiful everything was, how the trees are so tall and green, how there is such a powerful respect for nature that there was no litter on the roadside. By the time we got to the cabin owned by the family of Georgia’s BFF Baxter, I was mentally slapping myself for taking nearly four years to get to this gorgeous natural wonderland. Mt. Hood is visible nearly any time we’re out and about in the city, any clear day we are at our favorite park. It’s so close and accessible, even to novices like us, that finally being there made all the excuses I ever made completely preposterous.

The cabin sits in protected forest land, flanked by two rivers and wild, beautiful woods. We settled in and just enjoyed the quiet, the kids stretching out their legs and testing their nature sense. Jumping on rocks, digging in the dirt, examining sticks. We went on a quick hike up the road and kept our eyes peeled for good marshmallow roasting sticks. The kids threw rocks in the rushing Zig Zag River and then on our way back we each discovered our perfect stick. After dinner we sat around the fire, assembling s’mores, laughing and listening to the birds and bugs.

The next day we drove to Trillium Lake, a place I had seen photographed hundreds of times, but gasped to see — live and up close — yellow budded plate-sized lily pads dappling the water’s edge, while right above, just over the timberline, the majestic, magnificent peak of Mt. Hood held court. The kids played in the water, Georgia went on her first canoe ride and caught her first fish. We took a verdant two mile hike around the lake, enjoying the blue lupin and gigantic skunk cabbage, more glorious trees and around each turn another vision of Mt. Hood’s peak. When we got back to the cabin the kids were tired but happy, we ate the two fish they had caught, they helped collect the firewood and we had more s’mores before exhaustion hit. They slept well.

On our final day we took another hike, this time along the Still Creek Trail through the dry forest, finding signs of fairies in lots of strange mushrooms, fascinating trees sculpted by fire and wind and erosion, candy cane striped flowers and tiny purplish white bells, surely fairy hats. On the way back, Baxter’s mom kept the kids motivated with five M&Ms for each landmark we passed. “I got a yellow one!” “Is it lemon?” I feigned. A discussion of candy and a rousing chorus of “Lemoneminems! Lemoneminems! Lemoneminems!” got us off the trail and back on the road home. Tired, but exhilarated, the kids still had energy for a last game of Super Hero Harry Potter before collapsing into their respective car seats for the drive home.

As we were nearly home it occurred to me that we hadn’t thought of bears at all during our hikes. I’m sure our noisy hiking style would scare any bear, but it’s funny how being so close to nature made the fear smaller, and once we were safely in our car my mind wandered to negative things. Like people fighting against protecting our natural resources and how full of hubris humans are to want to tame this wildness. Nature is so purifying, being amid the vastness and the wonder makes me feel even more intensely the need to save our earth’s treasures for Georgia and Baxter’s generation, and beyond.

Photo credit: hive