Mountain Men

When I was about five, I would sit on the back porch with my Dad and look up at the “mountain range” that rose above Edgewood Avenue. I would imagine all sorts of adventures on that mountain. “Come on, Dad…can we go up there tomorrow?” Dad would always tell me that I wasn’t old enough, but he always said that we would climb to the very top when I was old enough.


I don’t remember exactly when it happened. I think I may have been eight or so. A couple of us went up to the Etz house to sell some Cub Scout popcorn. No one was home. We went around to the back of the house just to make sure. We were not prepared for what we saw in the Etz’s back yard.

There it was…plain as day…no mistake... That was an honest-to-goodness opening there in the very back of the yard. No question….it was a path! Yep, a real pathway leading right out of the back yard and straight up the “mountain”. It must have been made by the Indians or the pioneers or somebody cool hundreds of years ago.

So three Woodsdale Kids dressed in Cub Scout uniforms stood there a minute looking back and forth at each other. It didn’t take long, maybe a second, before it was agreed with nods all around. And the adventure began that perfect summer day. Off we went to explore the unknown regions of Woodsdale. I would finally scale Mount Edgewood.

“Now what?” I remember saying about a third of the way up when the trail ran out. All we could see ahead were trees and more trees. Lots of thick underbrush made climbing even harder. There was no sign of the top. Surely we were close. Then out of nowhere….mosquitoes! Swatting was useless. I don’t remember who started, but the next thing I remember we were all running as fast as we could back down the hill. The trail reappeared. Then we burst out of the woods rolling into the beautiful green grass at the Etz house. Safe at last!!!

Then I remember that we all started to laugh…and laugh. You know, the kind of laugh that says you have done something really cool together. We laughed and joked all the way home. We had done it. We had discovered the entrance to Mount Edgewood.

We promised each other, that day, we would return soon. We would do it again. Only this time we would be prepared…we would bring mosquito repellent.

Circle of Life

My friends and I would make hundreds of trips to the top of “Mount Edgewood” in the years to come. We would camp, hunt squirrels, and simply enjoy being free and independent.

Thirty some years later, my family and I were visiting my Mom & Dad. It was a beautiful summer afternoon. I was sitting on the back porch with my five year old son when he said “Dad, have you ever been to the top of that big mountain? Do you think we could go up there some time? Tomorrow?”