Take a hike

Friends J and S had invited us to go hiking this weekend. While Meh unfortunately had to work, Zachary and I elected to go enjoy a morning stroll (well, a second morning stroll - the three of us still did our traditional family walk) and then meet mommy in the afternoon.

New friends D and S (who we met at the fourth of July picnic) joined us as well, and the five of us set off on the fairly short drive to Twin Falls. Stroll is perhaps a slightly misleading term here. The hike was rated a 2 (out of 5) in our travel guide, and the above website calls it:

an ideal hike for small children, novice hikers, or anyone wishing for an easy low elevation walk in the woods at any time of year

So either I'm way more out of shape than I'd thought, the trail has been dramatically altered since the last printed updates, or the presence of a 20-pound load on my front (and a backpack in the back that didn't quite balance this) added an unforseen difficulty modifier. Thankfully, J and D both offered to help, and Zachary was mostly happy as his personal pack mule changed from me to J. Zachary spent most of the hike alternating between staring up at the various trees, and (once J was carrying him) swinging back around to make sure I was still there as well.

The trail was quite nice - mostly well maintained if nearly always uphill. I think the main source of confusion with the rating was that the guides were estimating the hike to a bridge over the namesake waterfalls. We reached that bridge, but the trail obviously continued, so we kept going, figuring there were even more vistas further along. While the views were nice, we eventually ended up parallel to the interstate and approaching large electric towers (while continuing to ascend) - and the path had narrowed and dwindled to a pretty narrow grade, so we eventually headed back down after what turned out to be a roughly 2 hour round-trip hike.

The weather was pleasant and just slightly overcast, though that certainly helped keep us cool on the hike. The walk was always within sight/sound of the river, which Zachary of course loved as he does all "water features". While we had a fairly quiet hike up, the crowds started arriving on our way back down, and it was amazing to see so many babies and young children - most of whom were in those fancy metal-framed backpack things. If we continue hiking with any frequency, that might be a good addition to consider -- though the carrier we currently use lets you put the baby on your back as well (if you trust yourself to gradually jiggle the carrier around 180 degrees; I don't have that much confidence yet).

After the hike, Zachary enjoyed his lunch in the trunk of the car (hey, it's a nice large flat surface - and yes, it's a hatchback) while everyone watched his cuteness gobble up sweet potatoes, crunchy star-shaped cereal, and raisins. All in all, a wonderful day out with friends in the beautiful scenery of the Pacific northwest!