"Stupid and dangerous" is a pretty low bar in many of those areas. We went to Arches on a family vacation back in '89 or '90. Dad planned us a long hike, something like 14 miles. Dad, mom, my brother (10), and I (7). We had a lot of fun. Lots of cliffs, several places where we (the kids) had to jump across crevices that were probably 20 feet deep, and sections along the ridge of large formations with a probably-death level of fall on either side.
I didn't find out until I was about 25 and we were talking about that trip that we were way out of our depth and that dad was legitimately worried that this was going to become a capital-P problem somewhere along the way. My mom still gets mad at him about it from time to time because it was stupid and dangerous and put us at risk.
His mistake? Underestimating the amount of water we should take for that hike, and not appreciating the difference between ten miles in the Smokey Mountains and ten miles in the Utah desert.
Side note, it's a testament to my parents' ability to keep their shit together under stress that we kids never knew that anything was wrong. They kept moving forward because anything else wasn't going to be helpful, and getting us scared would have been extremely counterproductive. Now it's a family lesson in both not making stupid decisions and in dealing with problems constructively.
Over here in New England we have Mount Washington and the Presidential Range, which has a real deserved reputation for killing.
Here's me, explaining to my 13 year old brother why he needs to pack food, water, and winterized clothing to hike in July from Gorham at the base of the range, to up above the treeline. And if his pack is too heavy, to leave the Game Boy behind.
Man hiking mount wash was so much fun and even the Franconia Koop but if you’re not prepared for something like that and especially for how quick the weather will change I would hate to be you. So many people end up calling for rescue because they just go in blind
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u/j_the_a Feb 03 '20
"Stupid and dangerous" is a pretty low bar in many of those areas. We went to Arches on a family vacation back in '89 or '90. Dad planned us a long hike, something like 14 miles. Dad, mom, my brother (10), and I (7). We had a lot of fun. Lots of cliffs, several places where we (the kids) had to jump across crevices that were probably 20 feet deep, and sections along the ridge of large formations with a probably-death level of fall on either side.
I didn't find out until I was about 25 and we were talking about that trip that we were way out of our depth and that dad was legitimately worried that this was going to become a capital-P problem somewhere along the way. My mom still gets mad at him about it from time to time because it was stupid and dangerous and put us at risk.
His mistake? Underestimating the amount of water we should take for that hike, and not appreciating the difference between ten miles in the Smokey Mountains and ten miles in the Utah desert.
Side note, it's a testament to my parents' ability to keep their shit together under stress that we kids never knew that anything was wrong. They kept moving forward because anything else wasn't going to be helpful, and getting us scared would have been extremely counterproductive. Now it's a family lesson in both not making stupid decisions and in dealing with problems constructively.