My first Father's Day, in 2009, had been a great one. I convinced most of my family to join Molly, Indie, and me on a hike along Meadow Run in Ohiopyle, PA to a spot called the Cascades. With the fantastic Cucumber Falls, the Meadow Run Natural Waterslides, and the Youghiogheny River itself all within a few hundred yards of each other in Ohiopyle, the Cascades don't see many visitors. If this 40+ foot cascading waterfall wasn't located so close to other attractions, it would be its own attraction. However, it's in Ohiopyle, and only the beautiful spots that one can easily walk to are visited by the masses. That's what I love about the Cascades.
After some tips from a friend and some Internet sleuthing, I settled on a spot about 1.5 hours from home on some backroads. It was a gamble, but so is any adventure to parts unknown. I vaguely knew the area from a day of paddling a while back, but for the most part we were heading into some PA State Gamelands we'd never been to before. I pieced together rough directions from geo-caching and climbing websites to a swim hole on a creek that not many boaters have on their radar in a forest not many people venture into. Getting there early to beat the sleeping rednecks is my usual policy, and we were on the road by 8:45 am.
We only made three wrong turns, but two of them were off the dirt road and put us at spots where the road terminated right away. It is all part of the process, and in this case the payoff was tremendous. In fact, it's remarkable that the first place where we pulled into the weeds to park was the right spot; a trail led us a couple hundred feet into the woods right to the hole. At first glance, I knew we were looking at a gem.
The walk reminded me of that last adventure with Jeremy, in particular in the crossing of Big Sandy Creek. Moving to rock to rock without going into the freezing water required choreography, and descending the last bit of trail to the swim hole with a very pregnant woman and a cute little redhead was no different. And, it was a team effort once again. I had Indie strapped to my back, so I was occupied in keeping my own stability while Jeremy sherpa'ed Molly down the steep, rocky trail. The extra weight of a pregnant woman isn't really the issue; it's the forward shift from her regular center of mass. Preventing her from falling forward was key, and there's nobody else I'd trust more than Jeremy for that.
Indie was incredible. I never expected a 17-month-old to require such focus, but I was completely occupied with making sure that she was never on her own accord near the water. As soon as we picked a spot for Molly to hunker down (amazing, isn't she?), Indie was on the trail. She digs dirt, scratches bark, and climbs rock while she squeaks, yakety-yaks, and claps. I find a strange mixture of pride while being unnerved at how her capabilities exceed her judgment. It's a dangerous combination, but with some diligence it fortunately only amounts to minor bumps and scrapes.
Just like Indie, but with a bit more grown-up sensibility, Jeremy and I climbed around on the waterfall and took the slide-plunge a few more times. The sun began to rise to an overhead position, warming us up enough to keep playing. It was a fantastic day in the mountains. I can't wait to go back with our little boy and when Molly can enjoy it, too.
Git r dun!
