Camping: Day Dhá

Fáilte go dtí mo bhlag! Today you'll be seeing what Kaya, Josefina, and I did on our second day of camping.


Daid woke me up much too early, telling me that we'd be hiking Mount Kineo today. I thew a pillow over my head and moaned, "Ní féidir é fanacht cúpla uair an chloig?"


Daid laughed, "Ní mór dúinn a fháil go luath más mian linn a dhreapadh ar fad 545 méadar!"


In Ireland, we used the metric system, but for all you feet-savy Americans, 545 méadar is 1,788 feet. That didn't seem like a lot to me, so I was in no hurry to get ready. Still half asleep, I rolled out of "bed" (I don't consider sleeping on the ground sleeping in a bed!), threw on some pants without bothering to change my pj shirt, slipped on some shoes (on the wrong feet), and tied my bedhead into a ponytail. I then stepped out into buggy ole Maine, not-so-ready to face the day.


In order to get to the mountain, we had to take Daid's boat. The view from it was beautiful, but the best part was when Mount Kineo came into view:

Look at those cliffs! I turned to Kaya nervously, and whispered, "Do you think we're going to have to climb up any cliffs? What if we fall?!"


Kaya's eyes went from frightened to excited in a matter of seconds. "I hope so! That'd be so much fun!" I just sighed, wishing I had asked Josefina instead.


When we got there, much to Kaya's disappointment, we started tramping along a trail. It was kind of rocky, but at least we didn't have to worry about falling off the side of a mountain!


Here's a picture of what much of the trail looked like. Isn't it pretty?

As you can see, it was completely surrounded by trees. Sometimes I had a hard time seeing the sky!

"Ah! Tá sé sin creagach!"

 When there was only about a half a mile left to go, Daid, Kaya, Josefina, and I stopped to rest in a clearing. I found an indent in a rock that fit my...erm...bottom perfectly!

The view from up there was amazing!!!

 

Unfortunately, I didn't get to enjoy the view for long, because we were soon heading back up the trail.


As we got closer and closer to the top, I began imagining what I might see. Maybe there would be a huge meadow, filled with flowers of every color, and billions of butterflies? Or maybe to trail would suddenly stop right at the edge of a cliff, and if you didn't react quickly enough you might fall off! After dreaming up a bunch of fantasy scenereos, you can imagine my surprise when the trail ended at the foot of...

...an observation tower!


The moment we saw it, everyone came to a dead stop. No one dared to speak until Kaya exclaimed, "Cool! Meet you guys at the top!", and sprinted up the steps.


I watched in awe as Kaya bounded up flight after flight of stairs, not batting an eye at the fact that the tower she was climbing resembled a metal death trap more than anything else! When she made it to the top, she yelled something down to us--something I couldn't hear.


Daid, Josefina, and I didn't have the courage to mount the rickety steps until Kaya jogged down them. "You guys gotta go up there! The view is awesome!" Kaya's braids had a crazy windblown look about them that didn't make her any more convincing.


"No, gracias," Josefina said shyly without any explanation other than the deer-in-headlights look in her eyes.


"I should probably stay down here with you girls, to make sure you girls don't get eaten by a moose." Daid chuckled. Josefina was the only one to laugh at his lame joke.


All eyes were on me. I thought of tons of excuses why I shouldn't climb to the top, including the old, "If I died, you all would be guilt-stricken and miss me terribly", but the only words my mouth was able to form were, "Umm...sure..."


I regretted my decision as I started up the steps. They were huge!

After many babysteps, I finally made it to the top. Kaya was right--the view was amazing!

It was kind of freaky being the only one up there. It was as if I was the only person in the whole entire world!

When I got down we decided to head home. It took a half an hour to get back to our boat, followed by an hour long boat ride. By the time we got back it was dinner time. But, to our surprise, instead of dinner Mam had made us...

...a cherry pie! Kaya, Josefina and I were so excited that we almost forgot to leave some for Mam and Daid!


When it was finally time to go to bed, you'd think that I would have fallen asleep right away. Unfortunately, I was wide awake! Maybe it had something to do with those cans of soda I drank right before bed...


After tossing and turning for a while, I realized that Kaya was still awake, too. I sat up and whispered her name, being careful not to wake sleeping Josefina.

She sat up simultaneously. "Saoirse? Why are you still awake?"


"I was about to ask you the same question," I said suspiciously.

Kaya sighed and turned away. "It's nothing really." She mumbled. "It's just that...sleeping in a tent, out in the wilderness reminds me a lot of, well, home. I miss 1764 a lot. Yes, Josefina's family is very nice, but it's not the same. They aren't my family."


I stared at her, not knowing what to say. Kaya's always had that tough, brave attitude to her. I had no idea she had actual feelings!


After a long uncomfortable silence, I finally fingured out what to say. "Kaya, if time travel is possible, than ANYTHING is possible. You're definitely going to find your tribe again, if not tonight or tomorrow then soon. I'm sure they're looking for you just as hard as you're looking for them."


Kaya turned back towards me and grinned. "Katsee-yow-yow!" She whispered before turning over and going to sleep.


That's it for day dhá! I'll post about our last day camping soon! For now, dea-oíche!

~Saoirse