The Hike to Timp Cave

Timp Cave is a bit of a hike.
Thank goodness for the numerous benches on the trail
(although getting Ethan off the benches and up the trail was sometimes a chore,
or rather, down the trail,
as he was pretty good about going up
but complained his feet hurt, going down.)

There are some gorgeous views on that trail, though.

This is the view both up and down of the trail on the last quarter or so of the 1.5 mile hike.
In the top photo you can see the shelter over the cave entrance,
in the bottom, how steep the switchbacks are.

Hiking with Kids

When you take little boys hiking,
expect them to get wet and dirty.
Even if the water is so cold no right-thinking person would venture in.

With smaller kids, it's best to hold their hands.

This can make multitasking interesting...

Our hikes at Glenwood Canyon (above)
and Colorado National Monument (below)
did add some interest to a long and dull car-bound trip!

Hike to Scout Falls

On Monday, Ethan and I hiked to Scout Falls,
up the Timpooneke trail.
The aspens were gorgeous.

Ethan enjoyed the hike a lot.
In fact I had a hard time keeping up with him!

Hiking with a large family group

As part of the reunion jollifications, I went on a Hike.
With a large group.
Eighteen of us.
And Uncle Laddie was in charge.
Uncle Laddie (oldest gentleman present, in the hat) goes at a slow pace, and had said that the hike would be about 3 miles.
Well, it was 3 miles one way. (hm)
And though Uncle Laddie did not go at a terribly fast clip, I forgot one of his peculiarities:
He Does Not Stop.
Ok, I exaggerate. We stopped maybe 6 times.
I usually stop about 60 times because hiking uphill makes me lose my breath and then I get dizzy and then I get migraines.
We did stop for this picture in a nice meadow with beaver ponds.
Here we all are, all 18 of us (except me, I am behind the camera, and Cousin Craig who Moved His Head and is in shadow and is virtually invisible.)

We also had some fun conversations and games along the way, like our hunt for the oldest date graffito on an aspen tree.

Then, after going uphill for about 3 miles, we arrived at Yellow Lake.
'Lake' is too grandiose a name, really, but the kids had fun skipping rocks across it.
Uncle Laddie allowed a few minutes' stop and handed out lifesavers.
I was a bit tired but feeling pleased with myself:
I had made it fine, no headache yet, and since we were at the halfway point, surely it was all downhill from here.
Right?

Wrong!
The second half of the trail loop went up on to the ridge.
And up.
And up.
It was at this point that I got seriously behind.
Behind enough to take this photo:

And I stayed behind for the rest of the trip.
In fact I would have been on my own, except that my nice, patient, kind older brother came back to hike with me.
We eventually caught up to the other slows, my cousin Michael and his wife and their 2 little kids.
It was more restful hiking in a small group.
I think I prefer that.