Herald Journal Blog

I had to chuckle when I read how the Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted Middle School students tackled a frightening 34-foot-tall rock wall during their Jan. 23-25 field trip to northern Minnesota. There is an account of the Deep Portage trip in the March 24 Herald Journal. It reminded me of a scary climb to the top of a fire tower I had in Itasca State Park a few years ago. I didn’t know I had a fear of heights or I wouldn’t have even tried to climb the tower. The higher I got, the narrower the steps became, both width and depth. There also were numerous children running up and down the stairs past me on the way up. As soon as I got to the tops of the trees, not anywhere near the top, my knees were trembling with fear. I had to turn around and go back down. I laugh now whenever I think about it, but I have never tried climbing that tower again since then.