The Befriended Father
A journey on the Black Forest Trail
I'd like to begin my story by sharing some words from the noted author/hunter/conservationist/poet, Steven Rinella:
......"Nobody goes to an amusement park and several years later says, "Remember that roller coaster ride, that was fun." This is because that brand of fun was easily earned. You stood in a line, then sat down. Real fun must be earned, and often times the highest brand of fun is attained through intense struggle. Those earned experiences are the stories told for lifetimes......"
The Black Forest Trail first made my radar about a year ago. At the time, Kris and I were considering it as a trip for the two of us. The weather and Providence had other plans and the trip never happened. Fast forward to the present day, and the trail continued to call. In need, perhaps selfishly, of some hardcore distraction, I began the process of preparing to have another go at it. This time, Aiden was on deck for the adventure. The short story on the BFT is rather simple. It boasts 42 miles of legit back country terrain with the added nuance of 8,000 feet of elevation gains/changes. It is often regarded as the most rugged hiking available in the eastern United States. The internet has no shortage of information on it, so have at it, if you wish. How hard could it really be, right? People do this. YouTube is littered with videos detailing every aspect of all manner of people completing this hike. If they can do it, so can I. Maybe I wanted to test myself. Maybe I wanted to test the trail and see if the hype was well founded. Either way, I found things I would have missed anywhere else. I witnessed strength, maturity, and wisdom uncommon among humans. None of it having anything to do with me.
Our plan was to complete the trek somewhere between 4-5 days. If it took six, so be it. Planning to be off the grid for any amount of time can be tricky. Add in the notion of being a parent, toting your 12 year old along, and things get considerably more complex......at least for me it did. I value the opportunity to place challenges in front of my kids, but surely there is a line of safety somewhere that shouldn't be crossed, isn't there? Kris reassured me we were not there yet, so off we went. What I'm not here to do is give you a report of what we carried, what we ate for dinner, and where we slept. I'll simply say we each carried just over 30 lbs of gear and hiked for just over 4 days. The finer details of the mile by mile journey belong solely to Aiden and I.
For the first two days I held my own. As you might expect, I handled the strategic decision making; when to eat, where to sleep, where to and where not to walk. Yadda Yadda. While these may sound like minor details, I assure you, out there, a mistake can lead to dire circumstances very quickly. At some point, probably halfway through, subtle shifts began to take place. Aiden began to be more than my son or even more than my travel companion. He started to assert his opinions and began making sound decisions for the both of us. It truly became a collaborative effort, a partnership. He demonstrated superior map reading and navigation skills. He successfully procured water in difficult circumstances. He displayed an uncanny ability to understand remaining hours of daylight relative to distance(s) needed to be traveled. Around camp, he pulled his own weight sharing in all the chores and tasks that needed to be accomplished night after night. He truly became a force to be reckoned with. One that would not be denied success.
In the end, I needed Aiden with me more than any map or piece of gear. I say with confidence that I would not have made it without his encouragement and ability to think clearly and communicate properly in a stressed moment.
The BFT belongs to us now. No one else will ever understand our unique experiences out there. Our struggles that created fun can never be erased. Perhaps the real beauty of this place lies not in its rugged reputation, nor in its rattlesnake dens or extreme mountainside descents or bear encounters. Its real majesty was making father and son into friends. Odd.....no YouTube video or trail review site mentioned that part.
