The trail started out nice and easy with just a slight incline. Aimee kept telling me, "I love hiking" and "This is the best day", which always makes a mom feel good. Halfway up, she started changing that to, "I'm so hungry!" Sorry girl, that's what happens when you refuse to eat more than 3 bites each meal for the past month!
Nice wide, "smooth" trail at the beginning.
About halfway up, taking a drink break.
Still pretty early in the hike, and still all smiles. So excited to be outdoors on a semi-cloudy day.
The last little bit of the trail was fairly steep and very rocky for the little ones. We had a few other young boys sticking close to us and they kept running off on little side "trails" getting lost. I finally told them to stay with us so they didn't "find" any rattlesnakes in the bushes.
We finally got to the top and found hoards of people soaking up the sunlight on the rocks. We found a shady little area and ate our lunch. Then, the boys ran off and played with the little tadpoles in the water. The kids were all very excited to see the petroglyphs carved into the rocks.
Little Miss was excited to see Mama after the long trip.
Finally relaxing at the top.
Kate enjoying her Wowbutter sandwich.
Playing with tadpoles in the water.
V begged me to let her play on the rocks. (Meaning she screamed as shrill as possible until I took her out of the pack.) She was more than thrilled to find some sand to play with!
I stood around, enjoying the views and watching the kids play around the rocks.
The view down the mountain.
All the boys playing under the petroglyphs.
Some of the kids playing up the rocks.
The view up the mountain. Beautiful clouds speckling the sky.
Ethan and Kate basking in the sunlight.
All the kids ready to head back down.
Going down was much easier, as it always is. Aimee just wanted to run, which was a definite no-no with all the rocks. The first time she fell, it was more of a slip and roll, in really slow motion. She was pretty upset that she rubbed her face on the ground. She tried convincing me that she got a cut, but it wasn't even a scratch. It was more of a "light sanding". I convinced her to let me hold her hand for a while. That is when she fell again, but this time it was a "trip and fly" because I picked her up as soon as she tripped and then let her get her footing again. She didn't appreciate my holding her hand, even though I saved her face from eating rocks. So towards the bottom of the trail, when the parking lot was in view, she got excited and started running again. This time I was nowhere near her and she took a really good tumble right onto some rocks. She still has rocks embedded in her palm. :-(
This is after the first "roll" for Aimee. She was not happy to be in a picture and thought it was the worst day ever. Little was she aware of what was coming her way. ;-)
Same place on the trail. Just without Aimee.
The kids loved the look of this part of the mountain.
Jayke kept looking for viewpoints and wanted to stop anytime he could see anything. It was all basically the same view, just lower and lower elevation.
Almost to the bottom. Kids are enjoying the hike again after they were able to drink some of my cold water. I am definitely hoping to get more hydration packs in the future instead of carrying water bottles for all the kids.
Overall, it was a nice, easy hike to start out the season. Even with a baby on my back, it wasn't too difficult. My knees didn't even complain with their typically popping and grinding. The trip took a total of 3 hours, with probably only 20 minutes at the top eating and playing. I am incredibly grateful for the slight cloud cover, as 72 degrees was still a little too hot for my enjoyment. I am just glad that it wasn't the 90 degrees that it was last week! We will be doing this hike again soon, though it will definitely be much earlier in the morning next time. Hopefully we will have Ryan and a nice camera on our next time around.
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