Family Hike

With Luke being in the hospital, the schedule that Danny and I and his parents established provided Saturdays as a day for Danny and I to be together with Claire, Sophie, and Johnny.  This Saturday was the first real opportunity for us to spend the day together having fun, but as of Friday night we weren't sure what to do.  Well, Danny and Claire decided early in the morning that we should go hiking!  We had never done that before, so it got everyone excited.  We packed some snacks and set out towards Adams Canyon.  It was the closest hike we could think of that we knew the kids should be able to handle.  Really, I was more worried about me than the kids!

The start of the hike was a bit discouraging for me.  It was far more challenging than I had expected!  It was sandy, and very steep, and it was oh so hot already!  There was no way I was going to make it up that mountain.  But not wanting to embarrass myself, I kept going and tried not to sound too winded. :)  It wasn't too far up that we hit a bit of a plateau where we could catch our breath before we entered the more wooded part of the trail.  We could see the whole valley from where we were, and I was quite impressed with how far up we had already hiked.  The views were absolutely breathtaking!

As we entered the woods, the temperature probably dropped ten degrees, and we were all incredibly more comfortable.  Spring was in full bloom, and the trees and flowers were gorgeous!  We stopped along the way to look at flowers and bugs, throw rocks, and take water breaks.  

At the top of Adams Canyon is a waterfall.  It's the goal of every hiker on this trail to get to the waterfall.  But being that this was our first hike with the kids, we weren't too worried about getting to the top.  We got awful close, though!  I was impressed with the terrain the kids were capable of handling...

When we decided to turn around, the kids were dirty and tired and having a fantastic time.  We had made it about 3/4s of the way up the trail.  We committed that next time we'd hit the waterfall, for sure.  Because there was one thing we knew for certain...there would be a next time!  Danny and I were pleasantly surprised with how much the kids enjoyed the hike, and I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it!  Danny and I spent the rest of the afternoon talking about other hikes we could do, vacations we should take that allowed for awesome day hikes, how hiking would change our trips to the cabin and our adventures in Yellowstone, and how we should start buying the right equipment for everyone.  

I think we'll be doing a lot more family hikes!