Hiking

So this weekend we went hiking, just like I threatened.  We did it a day later than anticipated, Sunday instead of Saturday, but as long as it happened, that's what really matters, right?

Okay, so this is Turtle Rock.  You see that small-looking rock formation at the very top?  That's it.  It looks like a turtle, apparently.  I couldn't see it, but who am I to argue?

Jubee took off running first thing.  I tried to convince her to conserve her energy, but she didn't listen.  Typical.

Here she is, playing on the rocks.  I tried to take some pictures of Sammy, but he was so excited and running so much, they all came out fuzzy.

That is, he was too fast until he asked if he could hold our lunchbag.  Well, who am I to argue with my little gentleman?

As you can see, Jubee wore out very quickly.  This is only after mile 1, and she's already being carried.  Someone should've warned me this is a bad sign.

Sammy was still pretty energetic, though.  See, so fast, he's a blur.

Someone also should've told me that a hike winds up being a lot longer if you stop and look at every body of water.  See Sammy holding Jubee's hand to make sure she doesn't jump in the water?

Cam kept saying, "stop trying to take pictures of me!" but I snuck this one in. I like his pensive look here.

Also, a hike is a lot longer if you have to stop and climb every rock.

We had Sam take this picture of us together, since we don't have a lot of pictures just the two of us.  Yeah, I know my chin is horribly broken out.  How does that happen anyway?

This was about 2 miles in, also about when we ran out of water.  I wasn't worried, because the internet said the trail was only 3 miles long.

So, we kept climbing rocks.  And picked flowers.

And we enjoyed an amazing view.

A little after mile 3, when we thought we were about done, we ran into this patch of snow.  It was 70 degrees outside, but this was shaded enough it hadn't melted yet.  We had a snowball fight in our shorts and t-shirts.  Cam was so thirsty from carrying Jubee for the last two hours, he scraped off the dirt and ate some of the snow.

 Sensing our trek was nearly at an end, we set out again, energized and happy.  Cam and I were taking turns carrying the backpack and Jubee and even occasionally Sam, who apparently has a 3 mile limit.  What a kid, am I right?

...aaaand...a mile later there was still no end in sight.

Jubee was getting very sleepy, and both of the tots required holding most of the time, which means we stopped quite a bit.

We found out later that from where we parked, it was a 5.5 mile hike, not a 3 mile one.  It wound up taking us just shy of 4 hours.  That's just a bit too much for toddlers, I've decided.  At least, next time, we'll bring enough water.  And sunscreen.  The tots are okay, but Cam and I look like overcooked lobsters again.