Edith

Amanda Sorenson, Broadwater High School

A brilliant light sneaks over the mountain, through the trees, and into the tent where I sleep. I feel the fluffy down sleeping bag warm all around me and open my groggy eyelids. Inhaling deeply, the crisp air clears my breathing passages. I smell fresh pine and a faint dog scent from Tess, Lucy, and Deilig, who are sharing the big green tent with us: my brother, Nik; my dad; our French exchange student, Michel; and my boyfriend, Jex, who are still sleeping comfortably. Knowing I can sleep as long as I would like, I rest for a few moments and enjoy the sounds of familiar breathing mixed with mountain bird songs, then I slip on my tennis shoes and duck outside.

First, I walk to the edge of Edith, the little crystal lake. I'm wearing shorts and the cool morning air raises goosebumps on my legs. I wash my face in the icy water, the sun shining as brightly in the mirror lake as it does in the heavens. Huge jagged rocks surround the lake-places for us to sit and fish.

Mountains shield the little lake on all sides. Their tops carve a border to the brilliant cloudless sky. My favorite color is the blue of the morning sky at Edith. It is brighter than any blueberry and clearer than any crystal. No photograph or painting can capture its glorious hue.

My camping partners begin to awaken and the three dogs start running all around the camp. Tess jumps at imaginary bugs, as border collies are known to do. Lucy, our air-head golden retriever, chases Tess. Deilig sniffs around, hoping her black lab nose will lead her to some treasure.

My dad is busy right away. His Wranglers and T-shirt on, his sleeping bag rolled, he starts the campfire. Jex and Michel, bleary-eyed and tousle-haired, walk around bewildered. Michel sits on the grey picnic table next to the campfire. His eyes are blank. Jex searches for contact lenses and a toothbrush in his pack with one hand. He rubs his eyes with the other and yawns. Nik is already fishing for breakfast. He was in charge of bringing food, and we ate most of it last night.

By now, the crisp air is gone and I can feel the sun's toasty kiss on my skin. I grab my clothes from my pack on the picnic table and retreat to the tent to get dressed.

My dad calls us all and tells us to start fishing. The sun makes his grey hair a shiny silver. I forgot to buy a fishing license, so I go to sit on a rock with Jex while he fishes. Lucy splashes through the water and we tell her to go away so she won't scare the fish. The warm sun relaxes me as Jex tells me how he made his Panther Martin fishing lure. I claim worms work best.

Nik, down the lake from us, has already caught three fish. Dad has caught two from the water near the camp. After about an hour, Jex catches a tiny trout, so the two of us go to help cook breakfast. My stomach is growling now and Nik is complaining about his hunger.

Michel fishes steadfastly, wanting a prize photograph to display back in France. His tan khakis are rolled up to reveal skinny calves and he stands like a heron in water to his ankles, casting the line repeatedly.

Dad cuts the heads off the fish and pulls their guts out. I hold the bucket filled with clean fish. Dad fries them and calls Michel in to eat. They don't smell good and are a bit slimy, but we eat quickly. Yesterday's long hike gave us crazy appetites. Luckily, Nik packed scrambled eggs. Michel, without a thought of eggs, returns to fishing. As we finish off the eggs, Michel whoops and reels in a large rainbow. Dad takes Michel's picture with the lake in the background. Then Michel cooks his catch.

It's time to start the long hike back to our Suburban. We make sandwiches for lunch, pack our backpacks, put our fire out and make sure we leave no litter. Then we start the hike up.

There's one place above Edith where two rock walls are so close together they form a walkway with enough room for two people to walk through. We climb between those rocks for fun, stopping along the way up to munch on little red berries that cover the mountainside. At the top of the mountain, we can see trees and valleys and the whole mountain range. We seem tiny in the midst of this giant landform.

As we walk along the edge of the Twin Sister Mountains, Baldy, and Mount Edith, we can see to the left the valley which holds Townsend, the town where we live. The highway and Canyon Ferry Lake are mapped for us from the tops of the mountains. To the right, jagged rocks drop to the Hidden Lakes and Gypsy Lake below us. My dad lags because his knee is arthritic and sore. My brother stays behind "to keep Dad company." Michel practically runs over the trails, talking to the dogs and whistling the entire way. Jex and I trudge along behind Michel. My legs, back, and shoulders ache from hiking for six hours. Our bottled water runs out and it's getting dark but luckily the suburban is just over the next hill.

When we get to our vehicle, we collapse and rest on the ground. We filter some water from a stream and let the cool water run down our parched throats. Then we wait for my dad and brother.

We're exhausted, happy, and peaceful, but already looking forward to next year, when we can take the trip again. On bumpy road home we all fall asleep except for our driver, Dad.

Essay of Place Issue
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