A couple of weekends ago we had a great adventure... our first overnight backpacking trip. Lance had our backpacks packed and sitting in the living room days in advance. The kids practiced carrying theirs around and we talked about how long and hard the hike might be. I will admit I was a little nervous. 2 kids, heavy packs, no bathrooms, only a few essential items... not quite my style. But the kids and Lance were so excited that it made me excited too.
We hiked part of the Pacific Crest Trail (the PCT), starting at Chinook pass and ending at Dewey lake. The hike was a little over 3 miles one way.
The hike was absolutely beautiful. Blue-green lakes along the way, meadows full of purple, yellow and pink flowers, tall mature green trees, mountain views, and best of all sunshine! The first couple of miles in were nice and easy, a great way to start with the kids. The last mile or so was pretty steep downhill. By then, the kids were hot and tired and there was quite a bit of whining. Luckily, Lance had brought a few snickers bars to tempt them with. Lets just say we took lots of breaks on the way down.
Once we arrived at Dewey lake we were all in awe. It is absolutely stunning. We found the perfect campsite right by the lake and immediately set up the tent so we could go play and explore.
This was the view from our tent. Ah-mazing!
The rest of the day was spent playing in the water and sand (we were pleasantly surprised by the sandy beaches!), building forts, climbing rocks, catching frogs, exploring the trails around the lake, fishing and just enjoying the beautiful scenery around us.
Carson had a blast helping Lance make dinner on the little camp stove. We even had dessert... a freeze dried marionberry cobbler. It was actually pretty delicious! Rylee taught me a new card game and we spent a lot of the evening playing that. Once it got dark we all played Uno in the tent with our headlamps.
The hike out wasn't as bad as the hike in. It helped that we got the uphill part out of the way first. Carson was a little tired and whiny, but that improved a little when I carried his backpack for him. All in all, the kids did pretty great on the way back.
The kids were exhausted by the end and fell asleep almost immediately in the car. We ended our adventure in Greenwater with ice cream for the kids and coffee for me. What a great weekend. We will definitely be planning more backpacking trips in the future!
