Some ideas are the product of meticulous planning and deliberate thinking, while others just seem to happen. When three friends and I decided to climb a 7,000 foot mountain at 3:00 AM to herald the sunrise with our trumpets, it was decidedly an idea of the latter variety. It had begun as a relaxed weekend backpacking trip. We would leave Saturday afternoon from the trailhead in Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and hike 6 miles each day, returning Monday. Often, backpackers will go to extreme lengths to eliminate excess weight, buying ludicrously expensive tents, counting out—to the calorie—the amount of food required, and even drilling holes in their toothbrushes. We four, in contrast, dedicated members of the Mercer Island High School Marching Band trumpet section, decided at the last minute to bring our trumpets along, nullifying any weight-saving efforts with our heavy instruments.
The seemingly irrational decisions didn’t end there. After ascending 3,000 feet in about 6 miles, we reached our camping spot for the night. We had planned to wake up late the following day and amble to the next campsite. The expansive skies above our idyllic meadow campsite gave us other ideas, however. Navaho Peak, a grueling ascent of over 1,000 feet in less than a mile, lay to the east. Smoke from recent Eastern Washington wildfires promised a spectacular sunrise. Once again, we threw our plans to the wind, set the alarm for 3:00 AM, and collapsed, exhausted, in our sleeping bags.
The unwelcome cry of the alarm greeted us less than 5 hours later. I snapped awake and began to pack. The weak beams of our headlamps did little to illuminate the other-worldly landscape surrounding us on the climb. The rills and fine stones of Navaho Pass truly resembled those of the moon. Multiple times, I wondered if, as in the fantasy novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs, we had been mysteriously transported to another planet, unaware and utterly alone in the dark. The incline, devoid of vegetation, spread seemingly endlessly in all directions as we reached the half-mile mark. The majority of the elevation gain remained. Calves searing, lungs scorched by the frigid desert-morning air, we kept straining for the dimly lit summit above. As we rounded the first switchback, we noticed a pastel glimmer of red on the fringes of the horizon. The sunrise imminent, we resumed our crusade with renewed vitality. Twenty agonizing minutes later, we reached the summit. Just as we staggered onto the highest rocky outcropping, the golden sun began to float into the sky. The wildfire smog distorted the neighboring peaks and diffused the light, saturating our view with gently mingling layers of reds, yellows, and oranges. Pulling our trumpets from our packs, we welcomed the new day with “America the Beautiful” and several Baroque Quartets. We spent the rest of the morning recuperating, throwing our sleeping bags carelessly on the summit’s craggy outcropping, too fatigued to mind the sharp rocks. That afternoon, we descended to the trailhead, forgoing an extra day and hiking over 12 miles to enjoy the comfort of arriving home early and plunging, utterly spent, into our beds.
Exploring the Pacific Northwest, I’ve taken part in trips choreographed to the minute, designed to maximize enjoyment and minimize effort. But of my excursions, my trip to Navaho Peak holds a special place in my heart, and offers a relevant lesson. Yes, do plan your trips. Don’t show up unprepared. But take every crazy, ridiculous-sounding, scary opportunity that presents itself. Perhaps it might just turn out to change your life.
Trip Information: www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/navaho-peak#trailhead-map
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Have you ever actually traveled with kids? It doesn’t seem like it by the tone of this article.
Hello Dr Ramesh,
If both legal guardians or birth parents of the child are traveling with the child, you will not need any other documentation, except everyone’s visas and passports. Check with your employer about medical insurance. If they will not provide medical coverage overseas, you can inquire with your U.S. based insurance company about what they provide. Some travel insurance companies sell one-year policies to cover students studying overseas and that might be another option. Safe Travels!
Sir, we both are going Europe with work visa on base of permit. Taking our 3year old child with us. Any letter or medical form/ paper we need to carry with us?
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Take a look at our adventures. https://www.youtube.com/user/00Shaddow00 . We just started doing this to bring the family together and stop wasting our time setting in front of the television. We are filming our trips to document our adventures to remember and to share with family and friends. Maybe to motivate others to get out there with there family.
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Hello Annetta,
Yes, one Permission to Travel or Consent Letter can list more than one child on it, if the contact information for the legal guardians/birth parents is the same.
Safe travels!
Can I use one concept form to apply for two sibling from the same father
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Our family of 3 adults booked a tour with Kalka Travels in April 2018. Our tour included transportation and accommodation in Delhi, Pushkar, Udaipur, Bundi, Jaipur and Agra. We then caught an overnight train to Varanasi where we met up with a third party contracted by Kalka Travel. Overall we were very happy with the tour company as they delivered on what we had pre-arranged with them. We upgraded our vehicle to a SUV rather than just a sedan, and added an elephant ride to Agra Fort, tickets to traditional dance show in Udaipur, a movie at the Raj Mandir theatre in Jaipur as well as water was supplied each day to us. All breakfasts were included. Our driver Ravinder was exceptional in that he was always on time and patient with us sometimes being late; the vehicle was always cleaned that morning and comfortable. He was highly attentive to our needs, very reliable, polite, and humorous, and told us what to expect at each stop. We always felt very safe with him as he was an excellent driver. His English was good in that we were able to ask many questions of him. Kalka Travels was flexible with our itinerary and our driver stopped at a few places that were not on our list of stops, unlike the other company we had considered booking who told us the drivers could not be flexible.Our wonderful driver, Ravinder, made our trip very special. Kalka Travels also only asked for a $100 deposit in advance and the remainder when we arrived in India, which put us at ease. Bobby Thakur was very quick to respond to any concerns we had. All in all, a wonderful vacation and experience with Kalka Travels.
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Great article & very practical. Thanks for all the tips – I’ll be thinking about them for a while as we work on our website redesign.
Great vacation ideas and post too..!!!
There are many famous forts and palaces along with wildlife sanctuaries and other monuments which has attracted thousands of visitors and some of them have become a part of UNESCO World Heritage Site as well.
We are completely in accord with these ‘not to miss 5 experiences in Dubai.’ We experienced them on a family trip last year. The one thing we missed out was the charter yacht. Now we have taken it as a priority for our next trip after reading your post.
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I just found a website that lists apple festivals all over the country! So you can find something in your area. They all seem a little bit different, which is fun. http://pickyourown.org/applefestivals.php
St john is more quite than other Caribbean islands. St John accessible only by ferry from the other U.S. Virgin Islands, St. John is a true gem in the Caribbean with crystal clear waters, lush green mountains and gorgeous white sand beaches. Though it is the smallest of the three U.S. Virgin Islands, St. John’s unspoiled beauty is perhaps the greatest found anywhere in the Caribbean.
Rajasthan is one of the most vibrant and colorful states in India with its rich culture and traditions since ancient times. It is known as the land of warriors and beautiful princess who even chose to die for saving their chastity and had a great affinity with their motherland. Whether it is the cuisine or the dress sense everything is unique about Rajasthan’s culture. There are many famous forts and palaces along with wildlife sanctuaries and other monuments which has attracted thousands of visitors and some of them have become a part of UNESCO World Heritage Site as well. The famous sites are described in this blog which is good for the history lovers and for those people who want to explore more about the diversity of Rajasthan.
Being in the city of Royal Tents in Jaisalmer of moving sand ridges, you can’t get away from the seat travel. A rough ride on a camel in the Thar Desert is one of the energizing things to do in Jaisalmer Royal Camps. It enables you to investigate the remote and segregated spots tucked amidst the abandon. Absolutely, the additional time you give on your safari, the more remote spots you are probably going to see and the more you may acclimate to and appreciate the abandon serenity.
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A rough ride on a camel in the Thar Desert is one of the energizing things to do in Jaisalmer Royal Camps. It enables you to investigate the remote and segregated spots tucked amidst the abandon.
I think that is a wonderful experience at Dubai. I’ve been to Dubai and it’s pretty