The return to StumpHouse Mountain

Now it was the boys' turn to head to StumpHouse mountain. If you remember, last time week I took Meredith to see the waterfalls and incomplete train tunnel. She cried and held my neck the entire time in the tunnel.

Zack has been staying with us this week, he is nine.
Randy is six. These boys thought they were tough. The day before our trip, they were trash talking about hunting bats and finding the back of the tunnel.

So we visited the falls first. Next we walk up the road to the entrance of the tunnel. Randy told me he would NOT go in. Mist rolls out of the mouth of this tunnel, and Randy said it was haunted. I picked him up and tried to calm him a bit before we went in. Zack was also nervous, but he stood on his own. Good thing because I know I could not have carried him.

Once you go in a ways, you come to a brick wall with an iron gate. The gate is open, and reminds me of an old style jail. As we crossed the threshold, the boys wanted to stop.
I was holding Randy and Zack (pictured to the right) was holding my sleeve. Up ahead I could almost see light coming from the vent shaft. After a minute of persuading, we made it to the vent shaft. That's as far as I made it with Meredith. That's as far as the boys would allow me to go.


After leaving the tunnel we went for a hike. The rough trail goes up the mountain. Pushing our way through the brush was difficult at times. Zack asked if I would lead the way. Only because I was clearing the spider webs for him.

When we got to the top, we needed a bathroom break, but there was no bathrooms.
We improvised before heading back down the trail.We got lost coming down, but as we back tracked, Randy showed us the way out.
So much for having bat meat for lunch. Maybe my third trip, I'll make it to the back of this place.