Early hiking experiences — 1960’s
I developed a love for mountain hiking in my 40’s. The experience of standing atop a lofty summit after an arduous hike, surveying the beautiful vistas below and breathing pristine air, is one of which I never tired. My many hikes caused me to reflect on hiking experiences I had as a youth, and I recalled three which I desired to record.
In April of 1964, I joined the Boy Scouts as a 12-year old in our ward in Reno. Two months later I went on my first week-long scout camp. The camp was called Camp Fleischman and it was located in the Sierra Nevada mountains west of Reno. There were six major hiking trails radiating out from the camp, of varying lengths and difficulties. Any scout who hiked the entire length of all six trails during the week at camp was awarded a special neckerchief slide, shaped like the sole of a hiking boot with six hobnails. The slide bore the words, “Hiker of Fleischman Trails”. The attaining of that slide became my quest, and I indeed accomplished the goal. I remember little of the hikes, but much of the joy of receiving the slide, and of painting each of the hobnails a different color, representing the six hikes.
My next memorable hiking experience occurred after we had moved to American Fork. Our troop went camping and hiking in northern Utah. I found myself in trouble not long after the hike started due to the fact that my boots were too small. Before long, I had developed large blisters on my big toes, and my nails were bleeding. My scoutmaster had to cut the toes out of both of my hiking books to make it possible for me to continue the hike. I learned a painful lesson about the necessity of properly-fitting footwear. I lost both of my toenails shortly after this experience.
Lastly, I recall a wonderful hike I took with two of my high school friends. We decided to see how quickly we could hike Mount Timpanogos (the Timpanooke side). We started out at about 3 am and literally jogged to the summit. We made the upward trek in just over 2 hours, and we were perched atop the summit in time to witness a spectacular sunrise far to the east. It was exhilarating both physically and emotionally.
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