October | 2014 | Less Pinning More Doing

Whew! Thought I was a goner there for a while, didntcha? Well, I’m back! Seeing as how it’s still Wednesday (barely), I’m gracing you with a little Wanderlust Wednesday post I’ve been meaning to do for a while now. And by “little” I mean long and with picture overload. You have been forewarned.

Today’s post is a bit different in that I’m sharing somewhere I actually got to go! I’ve been trying to be more positive and active in enjoying the gorgeous area where I get to live, because really, I’m pretty lucky. There are a lot of people who live where I live because of the natural beauty and easy access to so many opportunities for hiking, biking, camping, fishing, hunting, and whatever else you want to do outdoors. Just a quick drive from my home is the beautiful Mount Timpanogos. And by a quick drive, I mean closer than the nearest Costco. Or Target even. I mean, I actually have to pass by this mountain to get to these places.

So one day this summer, I got the crazy idea to drag my two oldest children (who are 8 and 10) up and back down this magisterial wonder with me. I would get them out into nature! And fresh air! With no screens! For a whole day! It would be a wonderful bonding experience! Little did they know what I was getting them into when they looked at me with glitter in their eyes for all the excitement they felt that Mom was taking just the two of them on an adventure for the day. {insert evil laugh}

Now, I had hiked this mountain as a teenager, but not since. There are two trails you can take – and I think we probably took the slightly more difficult one. Oops. I mean, it was okay except for the hundred and fifty three times I thought my 8 year old was going to fall right off the side of the very narrow mountain-goat-esque trail and plunge to his death. It’s a miracle I didn’t have a heart attack, actually.

Anyway, it was glorious and beautiful and gorgeous and a fantastic hike. We only hiked so far as the lake, but many people hike to the summit. All along the way we saw wildflowers in full bloom. We had our handy-dandy Field Guide to Wildflowers book and often took the time to stop and smell (and identify) the roses.

I only had my iPod with me because I didn’t want to haul my big ol’ Nikon up the mountain, so the pictures aren’t as crisp as they could be, but it was good enough to capture a little glimpse into the memories we made that day. So I’ll spare you any more rambling and just warn you again of the impending picture overload. Enjoy!

Before. Despite the chilly morning, I can assure you that these two were, in fact, excited for the adventure ahead.

Our view from the get-go.

Along the way, there are multiple waterfalls that you pass by/over/through. This was the first of the many.

We took a lot of rest stops. ;)

We are STRONG! {And we don’t realize just how far we have to go.}

Stopping to see just how far we’ve come from the trailhead.

Also, selfie proof that I was there too. :D And another gorgeous waterfall.

There are parts of the trail we liked to call “The Jungle.”

And then the heart attacks started. This was the beginning (and the easy part) of the scary part. I didn’t take many pictures for the next long while because I was busy ~~yelling at~~ reminding my children to stay next to the mountain instead of the cliff.

One of my favorite places we rested. Mountain bluebells for DAYS, I tell you!

We were getting pretty worn down, but just over this hill and then another small hill, was Emerald Lake. Ah, sweet rest! Unfortunately, or fortunately really, we were enjoying it too much to take pictures.

Headed back down. This picture makes me so happy – those are my kids! On that mountain! They were troopers!

And this one. My favorite from the whole day. We can do hard things.

Aaaaand after:

Contrary to their faces, they really did enjoy the hike. We all did, but yeah, we were pooped by the end. I tell ya what, though, I can’t wait to make this a summer tradition! I love getting to spend time like this with my kids with no distractions for any of us. But next time, I think we’ll try the trail up the other side of the mountain. Okay, one last look at that before and after: