Kevin, a friend of mine, was an avid scouter in his younger days. He had taken many boys into the woods, up the mountains, and to scout camp. On one of their times at Treasure Mountain Scout Camp, the camp closest to the Tetons, the boys wanted to climb up to Table Mountain.

As a scouter myself, I have made this climb many times. As my children became teens, they also wanted me to take them on this climb, so I know it well. From the west side of the mountain, there are two trails. One is a slower climb up through the canyon and is about fourteen miles for the round trip. The other trail is up the face of the mountain and is a little more than half that distance.

The face trail, although shorter, is a steep, exhausting climb. Unless I have a whole troop of tough boys, I seldom take it up or down. However, Kevin’s troop insisted they wanted to take the shorter, steeper trail.

They started early. No one should be on the mountain past about five o’clock in the evening, since huge, dangerous storms often hit the mountain. The boys hiked hard, toiling up the steep trail. They had to rest frequently, but they eventually emerged from the woods onto the plateau where the two trails converged.

Being able to see their goal a mile or two in the distance, they thought they deserved a extended rest before attempting the last part. They all took off their pack, pulled out some water, and grabbed some snacks.

While they were resting, three older women came out of the woods just behind them. As they approached, they were hiking at a phenomenal pace, especially for women who were likely in their late seventies to early eighties. The boys’ mouths dropped as the ladies hiked past them, with the leader smiling and saying, “Howdy, boys.”

The women hadn’t gone too much farther when the oldest boy jumped up. “Come on, guys! We can’t let three old ladies beat us. I say we catch them, pass them, and get there first.”

Even though a few of the boys grumbled about starting again, they all agreed they didn’t want three old ladies to beat them to the top of the mountain, especially when the ladies had obviously started after them.

The boys pulled their packs on and started moving at a good pace. However, it was not a pace that most, if any of them, could sustain for very long, and soon they slowed to a medium walk, then a slow walk, and finally, they had to take another break. They watched as the ladies continued hiking, putting more distance between them.

Kevin watched the ladies in the distance and figured that they had reached the top of the mountain at least a half hour before his group of tired boys fell exhausted onto the summit. The ladies had been there, taken pictures, had a brief rest and some lunch, and were preparing to head down.

Kevin went over to the leader. “So, you ladies are amazing hikers. How can you climb the mountain like that?”

The lady smiled. “All three of us are widows. We all lost our husbands around the same time. At first, we sat around and moped, but then, one day, we decided we were through sitting in our rocking chairs waiting to die. Then, we made the decision to climb this mountain. It nearly killed us the first few times, but we kept at it, and now we climb it every other day. We’ve done it for a few years and plan to continue as long as we can.”

“That’s amazing,” Kevin said.

The ladies headed on their way. The boys ate their lunch and rested a while. When it was time to leave, Kevin stood and called to them. “Let’s go,” he said. “No rocking chairs for us, either.”

 

Daris Howard, award-winning, syndicated columnist, playwright, and author, can be contacted at da***@*********rd.com; or visit his website at http://www.publishinginspiration.com, to buy his books.