The Great M Adventure

Niko was well passed due for a solo adventure and spontaneously decided to take Hazel and hike the M. Paul instantly said yes and I responded with a hesitant yes. He is going to be 11 next month and values his independence which we try to nurture as much as we can. So, armed with a cell phone, dog, water and snacks he walked over to the college campus for his first solo hike.

He wore a white shirt and I could see his progress from our driveway. He is the little little dot of white in the middle of the second to last switch back. My eyes are good enough that I could see the tan speck in front of him, Hazel. Niko loved eating his gummy bunnies on top and giving Hazel a peanut butter biscuit while calling Yiayia back in New York to scare her that he was on a solo hike. (He tells me that he just wanted to talk to her. He didn't know it would scare her...)
I called Niko on the cell phone a few times and almost told him to return at one point due to the threat of rain. (And to get his pizza order...feta and pineapple from The Bridge, of course) He made it down to the University campus before the rain but then a downpour hit.


Niko says he wants to hike the M everyday, only with the dog, before we leave.