Its been a year since we hiked it. Actually, Ty and I did it last March for my birthday without the kids (obviously), so it had been awhile.
We were trying to fit a bunch of activities into our only family day together, so the time it worked out that we could go was at 2pm.
The hottest part of the day.
The trail is pretty shaded... we were walking along having a great time, and its close enough to Morro Bay to get some of the lovely ocean breeze, so it wasn't as scorching as it could have been. But it was still pretty warm in the sun.
Since everyone was having such a blast, I had a brilliant idea!
I suggested to Tyson that we try to do the whole loop. In my mind, we were 'practically there anyways!' It was 'just around the corner and up one more hill until the part where you start heading back down to the campgrounds.'
...except then, it never really was just around the corner...
only by the time I realized I was delusional, we had gone so far, we had to just keep going...
The kids started whining about being hot, and 'getting too much exercise' (that would be Anabelle) about a mile and a half in.
This is mostly uphill, mind you.
We brought a couple water bottles, and I grabbed a couple granola bars as an afterthought on the way out the door.
They came in handy when all of a sudden the kids went from squeaky clean poster children for the YMCA...
...to THIS:
I felt SO.BAD.
Their poor little cheeks were burning red, and their bright blue eyes looked like they might just pop right out of their flushed little faces. There was some minimal complaining... but heaven KNOWS Tyson and I weren't about to throw our backs out carrying 45lb kids up a mountain.
We rested a lot. We said a LOT of 'we're almost there!'s not really knowing if we actually were almost there...
...there might have been a silent prayer or two...
But ultimately... they did it!
And they were proud of themselves when we got to the top!
It was 1.7 miles uphill to this sign, then another mile down the mountain, which wasn't bad since it was all downhill (but all in the sun).And after nearly three miles of wilderness hiking, we all did a victory dance on the bridge leading back to the sweet sight of the air conditioned car.
I am SO proud of my little super troopers. That was quite a hike!
And how cool is it that now... we can head out on a Sunday afternoon with minimal packing requirements to have an enjoyable outing.
No diapers. No strollers. No bibs. No nap times to rush home for.
All we have to worry about now is making quality memories for our children to fill their childhood with.
Yesterday was a great start.
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