Our visitor

It all started 5 years ago. We had backpacked into a wilderness lake, about 7 miles in (shows how die hard we are - Princess Sprout was 2!). In true StudHusband fashion, he wanted to do a night hike after dinner, which he did alone. He came back with a fascinating account of cabins that he found on the other side of the lake.

For those of you that are not familiar with American Wildernesses, let me do a quick 101 here. The key to being a wilderness is that there are absolutely no roads, no human industrial type impact, no buildings...period. This was crazy news! A full village of beautiful lincoln-log type cabins??

The next morning when we wandered to the village, we half expected them to not be there, as if StudHusband just hallucinated it the night before. But, sure enough, there it was. A village in the wilderness! And out popped a white bearded man, we soon learned was named Harry. He warmly welcomed us and even offered us a cabin to sleep in - cleverly coined the "Hampton Inn". Every morning he'd whip out a full pancake,egg,sausage, and bacon breakfast. He had rigged up a private shower room, with pipes wrapped in black plastic that wound down the mountain creating strong water pressure and HOT water. I took a real shower, slept on a mattress, and met up with harry every morning for breakfast in the round lodge room with a beautiful balcony.

This was crazy!! In a wilderness?

As we learned more of Harry, we learned that we were on 15 acres of private land that had been grandfathered in when the area had been turned into a wilderness area. He was the "Wilderness guardian" or, as most knew him as, "Harry, the Mountain Man." This man had chosen this job as he sought peace, solitude, and time with God in quietness. He loves the Lord and Loves serving people up in this remote destination resort that has literally had thousands of people come to it, year after year, to hang out with God and Harry and the peace of the mountains. And it's Totally FREE!!

So, every year, we go back to the area, even though now he is retired and living in his home in the town that abuts the wilderness area, and we visit Harry for a few days. And every year, Harry hints that he'd love to meet a nice lady, as he is wanting to share his life with a lady.

At 69, this is the fittest man I know (other than StudHusband :). He is the kindest, gentlest, and most interesting soul too. He talks of hiking the trail to Anaroid Lake, 7 miles one way, over 80 times a summer so that he could restock his food supply. His stories are endless and each one more fascinating then the next. I tell him that I need to write all of it down, and publish a book: "Everything I needed to know about Life I learned from the Mountain Man".

So, this was my visitor. He called last week and said he's coming through town and needed to stay at our house.

COOL! Mountain Man is coming!

and....