Conquering Montgo - My Turn!

Hi I'm Kellen and this is how I conquered Montgo, I woke up in the morning and went to my dad's room and woke him up and he said 'Get back to bed!' But I really wanted to go, because Christian conquered Montgo. It made me sad that I didn't go - he got binoculars and a big celebration and it was like a birthday party. Mommy wanted to go too, but she was too tired. So daddy and I went. We walked down a road that we called "Medusa" because from up high the road looked like a witch with hairs coming out of her head. The road had dog poo on it and a lot of puddles on it too. I asked daddy if I could take a picture of it but in the end I decided I wouldn't. I felt scared to climb Montgo because it was going to be the first mountain I ever climbed and I didn't have any practice. We started climbing and found a map that was pretty big. As we got closer to the top, it was very rocky and they called this part the "backbone of the beast". I told daddy that it wasn't a beast - it was an elephant. When we were lower on the mountain it wasn't as rocky. I was getting tired and took ten breaks. My dad said that we were going to beat Christian by one minute and I started to race to the top. Turned out he was just tricking me to make me go faster. At the top it felt like I climbed Mt. Everest. It was a miracle! The views were excellent and we celebrated by having a big feast of snacks. There were two men at the top - we said hello and I took more pictures than daddy did. By the way, I had to go poo on the way up and my dad found some wet leaves to wipe my butt. On the way down, I didn't feel like racing. I took a wrong path with an X on it and slipped. I got a big red mark and my dad said that that was proof that I climbed Montgo. I was getting tired and was slipping on the rocks. It was a little scary and my feet hurt a lot. Next time I am going to wear my hiking boots. At the bottom, my dad gave me a piggy-back ride and he ran so fast it was like riding a horse. I promised my dad that I would kiss the floor when I got home. Mommy and Grandma Lou were very proud and I felt very happy and proud - like Christian when he came back. I didn't get binoculars though. Me and my daddy couldn't believe I could do it without training. He kept asking me if I wanted to turn back but I didn't! That is my story. The end.

Conquering Montgo

"I climbed Montgo and that is the 2nd highest mountain in Alicante" - Christian Roy, January 2, 2009, Javea. After months of hard work, hours of preparation, broken promises, infighting at base camp, and a seemingly endless wait for the weather (and for daddy's New Year's hangover) to clear, we finally got a rare window of opportunity to make our ascent on the morning of January 2nd. Just one day after Christian made it his New Year's resolution to bag this formidable and elusive beast - and just two days shy of his 7th birthday - we found ourselves ready to seize the day. Every morning this past week, Christian has been waking up and looking pensively across the valley to the Montgo, wondering if today would be his day. One by one, the other promising climbers backed away from the challenge, until only Christian and his dutiful sherpa remained. As the summitting season was nearing its close, pressure was mounting on the climbers and the tension weighed on the camp like a wet wool blanket in the cold, damp Javea air. A sliver of dawn peaked out across the horizon as we packed our bags, kissed our loved ones goodbye, and headed for the trailhead. The fog hung thick across the valley as we drove through the orange groves in silence, wondering if we had what it would take to summit and return... Today, fate was on our side and the mountain gods smiled upon us as we began our ascent. Christian was more than prepared and he bolted up towards the summit with hardly any need for rest along the way. I had planned for 2 1/2 hours, but we made it in less than 1:45 - plenty of time to relax and enjoy the views from the top, savoring our accomplishment. I must admit his agility surprised me, particularly on the rocky scramble at the base of the summit. Sure, he started to poop out towards the end, but by then we were only a couple hundred yards from the car and adrenaline more than compensated for his tired little legs. It was great to watch him parade into base camp a hero - he was so proud and couldn't wait to share his accomplishment with everyone. I too, was a very proud sherpa, and it looks like I might have at least one budding backpack partner in the mix - perhaps sooner than anyone might have anticipated!

Hiking to the Castell La Granadella

Christian and Casey have now firmly established themselves as the hikers of the family! On a cloudy Saturday, the three of us headed out to Granadella cove to see if we could find the ruins of the Castle of La Granadella, The Castell was small outpost hidden on the cliff above the cove, which formed part of the Valencian coastal defense system on the Southern border of Javea. This area had been assaulted by North African pirates since the time of the Christian conquest of the Moors. We started down at the beach, where there were some rather large waves due to the recent stormy weather (yes another week of rain in the forecast!). From there it was a several Km hike up to the cliffs above. Christian led the hike for the most part, although he had trouble leaving his team behind. It became a game for the kids to be the first to find the trail markers - yellow and white parallel stripes - placed strategically along the rocks and trees ahead. There was not much left of the castle, which had been slowly deteriorating over time, but that didn't stop the kids from making up stories of pirates, dragons and princesses. By now, it was well past lunch, we hurried back, spurred on by images of a large angry dragon on our tail, and a gang of angry pirates preparing for their attack down at the beach below.

Hiking along the Cap Prim - Portixol

Just a five minute walk from the boy's school exists a wonderful hiking area along the coast at the base of the Creu (Cross) de Portixol. Christian, Casey and I headed out on Sunday to explore this area further. The walk took us past some lovely villas on the hilltop and descended through a low-lying pine forest to the cliffs. We walked out to the point, which offered some lovely views of Portixol island as well as the bay of Javea behind us. The kids had a great time as it was an easy walk - which for Christian was part of his training regimen to climb Montgo. They enjoyed chewing on the pine needles, which I told them were a great snack, loaded with Vitamin C. It was great that they kept up the whole time and didn't once ask me to carry them. I am encouraged that we can start doing bigger hikes soon!