Cameron Slack

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Such Great Heights

My first experience ever on a mountain was when I was seven years old. My Grampie

Slack took me up to North Conway with him. We climbed Mount Major together and, to this

day, every single experience on that mountain resonates within me. The trees at the base of the

mountain eventually got sparser as we hiked up the mountain. The brisk air atop the grand view

that I shared with my Grampie was so crisp. I hold all of these vivid memories very dearly in my

mind and they will forever reside there. Even though my now senile Grampie doesn’t recognize

me, let alone his own children, I cherish the fact that I conquered Mount Major when I was seven

and he was seventy three. Together.

I grew up in the coastal town of Hampton, New Hampshire. The noxious smell of the salt

marshes and spurts of salt water spray from the beach permeates all of my hometown. My

parents don’t like to travel, which meant I wouldn’t be seeing much beyond my local

surroundings during my childhood. My Grampie came to visit one summer day from his

hometown of Methuen, Massachusetts. With my parents’ permission, he drove me up to North

Conway to spend the day with him. For the first time ever, I would experience my ears popping

due to changing altitudes. The un-comfortability I experienced was enough to make my eyes tear

up. I didn’t know why my ears were popping every few seconds. My Grampie noticed that I was

experiencing my ears popping and handed me two pieces of Juicy Fruit chewing gum. The

popping of my ears eventually stopped as soon as we landed in North Conway. Once we were

there, we saw many wonderful sights: the Flume, the base of Mount Washington, the rustic Cog

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Railway, and some more historic tourist attractions. After seeing all that we could in North

Conway, we headed south towards what would be the first mountain I would ever climb: Mount

Major.

Once we reached our destination, we set out along our hiking trail ascending the

mountain from the base. The first incline I faced with my Grampie was covered deeply with

loose rocks. Those loose rocks basically looked like massive meteors to me because I was so

young and small. My Grampie thought it would be funny to roll some of the rocks downward

towards me and jokingly yell, “Avalanche!” The tumbling rocks crashed and pounced on one

another, each one of them made the sound of thunder as they collided until they came to a

complete stop at the bottom of the incline. I looked up above me, where my Grampie was

grinning with his crooked smile. It was uplifting and heartened me to see him so playful with me.

The sun glistened over his aged body and beamed downward into my eyes. We continued our

lengthy hike.

The next part of our trek was a short time after the faux avalanche. We came across a flat

space with a giant boulder. It was the perfect time and space to stop for a break. Our backpacks

were full of my favorite snack, original Goldfish cheddar crackers along with water and some

Gatorade to stay hydrated. We sat atop the giant boulder, big enough to seat at least 8 people.

The wind floated through the trail and it smelled nothing like the car fresheners. The air smelled

much more natural. The only sound you could hear next to our crunching and swallowing was

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the approaching footsteps of other hikers. We watched the next groups of people come up and

pass us by. That signaled it was about time we wrapped up our break.

We kept pace with the people in front of us for most of the hike and I stayed in tune with

each step that my Grampie took. Left, right, left, right as I carefully observed the path in front of

me. I maneuvered over any treacherous part of the trail with my Grampie, occasionally reaching

his slender old hand out to me. I took his hand without hesitation, knowing he was there for me

for my first hike.

It was another hundred strenuous feet until we reached the peak, and I noticed my

Grampie started to get winded. Sweat was pouring down his face and back; with every step

upward his breath got shorter and shorter. The air on the mountain got noticeably thinner

compared to the base of the mountain. It clicked in my mind all that my Grampie did for me that

day. I thought to myself, it was now my turn to help him. I moved above him and the same scene

arose. The sun was shining down on my back and pierced down onto my Grampie. I extended

my little boy’s hand out to him and said, “Come on, Grampie! We’re almost there! We’re

practically at the top! Just a few more feet!” He took my hand and again his crooked smile

emerged. I yanked his wise old body towards me with all my might. I lead the charge to the peak

of the mountain with my Grampie right behind me. We finally made it. We reached the top of

Mount Major, together.

The exhausting hike up was worth the awe inspiring view. The clouds were so low that

day, it felt as though you could sit on them. Atop the highest vantage point, my Grampie and I

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looked outward into the vast mountainous valley and took in all of Earth’s beauty shown right

before our eyes. We sat in silence for about 10 minutes. The sun was bending over midday and

hid behind some clouds. Then the silence was broken by a group of teenagers who also made it

to the peak. They pulled out their boom box, sat down, and we relaxed together. All of us at the

top shared the same view, the same sounds, and the same hike. In some way, we were all

connected in that moment. A short while after a faint song played from the teenagers’ boom box,

I could hear the lyrics sing through the wind and into my ear.

“But everything looks perfect from far away,

Come down now, but we'll stay...”

My Grampie was bobbing his head and tapping his foot, as was I. He enjoyed the song so

much, he went up to the teens and asked them what the name of the song was. The song title was

“Such Great Heights” performed by The Postal Service.

Around two months ago, I was on my way to visit my Grampie for the first time in

several months. My father and I walked into the assisted living building. It was there I would

experience my Grampie like never before. His body looked crippled and decrepit as he was

hunched over looking down at some photos. My father called out to him and said, “Hi, Dad!” He

looked up at both of us with a very puzzled expression on his face. I knew then and there that if

he didn’t recognize my Dad, he surely wouldn’t recognize me. But no matter, we stayed and

relaxed for a good half hour. We decided to leave before too long because it was too hard to talk

with a man who gave you life, but can’t even remember ever doing so. After around 15 minutes

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on the highway, I turned on the car radio to my favorite alternative station 92.5. My ears tingled

as some melodies flowed into them, all of my attention was directly tuned into the song that was

playing. It was Such Great Heights! I tapped my foot and sang the lyrics quietly to myself while

I looked out the window. Each passing car on the highway zoomed by and all I could think about

was how these lyrics reminded me of such a vivid memory. I like to think that if my Grampie

heard this song again he would tap his foot, bob his head, and remember just as I do our time

together shared on Mount Major.