Mt. Townsend, Silver Lake

This weekend we took another back packing adventure. The first day was quite an adventure.  We started at Dirty Face Ridge.  It was a dirty trail in the fact that it was not easy.  It was a long 7 miles of hiking (4 miles of it was climbing not hiking) but so worth the views.  There was some weeping and wailing but we did it.   The kids whined a bit too.  

You can see Buckhorn peak in the background just above my head that we have been to a couple of times.  

Views

views

I love being on top of mountains.  It is so satisfying and awe inspiring to see the beautiful world we live in. I need these hikes.  

Tired out kids

This was Jarom's favorite place to take in the view.  

I know it is sad but we were only less than a mile from our destination but we had had it after 7 hours of hiking.  The thought of going up more elevation didn't sound appealing to my sore feet.  We found a nice spot next to a stream to camp for the night.  Our tents were cramped but we enjoyed our time there.  

Roasting marshmallows after our yummy rice and salmon dinner.  Nathan read The adventures of Tom Sawyer then we all crashed hard. 

This is the boys tent.  There is nothing like waking up in the morning with a little tree in your face as you get out of the tent.  Ha ha!  I decided boys just don't care where the door of their tent faces.  

This little guy greeted us at the lake when we got there.  

The first order of business was to swim in the lake.  We were glad we did because shortly after we were done, fog engulfed the lake and camp areas.  The temperature dropped too.

It took Jarom the longest to get wet.  The water was cold but you have to jump into a cold lake after hiking.  It didn't take me long cause Josiah shoved me in.  It feels so good once you do it.  

Our fog for the afternoon and evening.

We played card games, explored, read, and attempted to fish.

Nathan reading as we all lounge around.  

fishing attempt

The kids are sitting on a boulder on other side of the lake. They loved to climb on it and make me nervous.  

Jarom carving his initials in the tree next to the boulder.  Nathan loves to quote this, "fools names and fools faces are often found in public places." 

Do you see Josiah?

Nathan making dinner.  We wanted a lid so he thought he would try his hat.  We ended up using a plastic bag that worked great. 

This was the result of dinner.  Alfredo sauce with tuna over spaghetti noodles.  So good.   It is amazing what you can get your kids to eat if they are hungry enough.  They wouldn't have eaten either dinner, that we had, at home.  

Elijah wanted proof of his strength.

This was in the evening when the fog lifted out of the lake area and you could see glimpses of blue sky.  

Josiah and Allie were a great pair to sit and listen.  

Nathan took this lake picture early in the next morning. 

The sun was gladly welcomed in the morning.  They boys are basking in its warmth but didn't take long for the fog to take over.  

Nathan is jealous of my new sleeping bag.  I have needed a good back packing bag for awhile and it is so much more compact than his. I love that sleeping bag.  

We took a stroll up to the saddle to get a different view of the lake.  It was a good climb.  There was a bit of snow up towards the to . It was exciting for the kids to slide down in the snow.  Elijah wanted a sled but decided sliding in the rocks would be just fine.  

We are headed back to the car.  I think we were delirious on the way back cause everything was funny.   Sadie was caught in this dilemma of not being able to fit between these trees.  The trees were thick on this trail.  The trail was 3 miles down to the gravel road then another mile to the car.  

There were some steep areas on this trail.  At one point Nathan had Elijah ditch his pack and let it roll down.  It would have taken Elijah down if not.  We were worried the pack was going to go forever and we would never see it again.  I think you would have had to be with us to think it was funny.  We sent Josiah after it.  Once he retrieved it and headed back to us this is was happened.  See video below.   There are times when it is hard to get out of tough situations.  

We made it to the gravel road on the last stretch of the hike.  This is one hike all of us will remember.