Combining blogs

It's time to combine thie hiking blog back into Lisa and I's main blog. This makes one less thing to keep up to date, most people want to see both anyway, and it makes it easier to copy everything to my journal. This will be the last post to this blog. All future blog entries will be here.

Twin Lakes

The Twin Lakes hike was really pretty. It's definitely fall and the leaves are starting to change color. The clouds were out for the first hour and half, after which the sun came out and said "check out these colors!".

Lisa really has an eye for a great picture.

Sydney's just plain cute. The way she talks, walks, etc.

And I thought Silver Lake was pretty walking around. The view from above gives better perspective. Of course, Tanner was sleeping about this point. Another picture comes later with the sun out.

Twin Lakes was pretty cool, but definitely had been partially drained. You can see the sun starting to come out.

It was so warm before the sun hid in the clouds that I left my sweatshirt in the car. This is Lisa's kindness letting Darth Sydney wear hers.

Nanny's eyes just make you stop whatever you're doing. Sadly, her spitfire attitude and hilarious nature means you need to be on the guard. Here? Just sweetness.

Tanner has a history of not eating his lunch when we go hiking. He takes his share, stacks the crackers, walks around with crackers, then rubs them around in the dirt.

Another view of Darth Sydney. No red paint on the face.

Tanner had eaten all his mini M&Ms, so Sydney shared a few. After three or four, the hands went on the hips and no more M&Ms were allotted.

Isn't she the prettiest thing you've ever seen? Hey...stop checking out my wife!

This was funny. After I got her to stop for a picture, she said "take a picture with my eyes looking this way". She's got a mind for good pictures. Silly bug.

It was fun to hike down with the sun out of the clouds.

A nice couple asked if we wanted a family picture. I love these.

Personally I think my best picture yet. The lake is gorgeous, the bold evergreens contrast the yellows and light greens of the aspens.

I can't get over the beauty of Big Cottonwood Canyon. Sydney and I were hopping, skipping, and jumping on the way down the trail. It always makes Tanner and Natalie laugh.

Fall.

Logan Canyon - Crimson / Riverside Trail

Since my brother-in-law Eric's birthday was Tuesday and mine was Saturday, we went up to Logan to celebrate at their place. We were planning all week on doing a hike in Logan Canyon, but on the way up, it was pouring. We drove up through quite a bit of rain and pulled up to the map showing the trail heads. It had just barely stopped raining, and the clouds looked good, but the clouds were moving pretty fast. We decided we'd just start up and be able to turn around if need be. We hiked for an hour and a half and had a couple drops when we were almost back. Lisa called it "the birthday miracle". Paul took Tanner on his shoulders so I put Sydney in the backpack halfway through and we all had a great time. We started up the Crimson trail, then took the turnoff down to the riverside trail and followed it back to the cars.

The men looking over the map.

Grandpa and Tanner. The best of buds.

Just the start of the pretty colors up in Logan Canyon.

It's definitely fall. It was so gorgeous.

These are my favorite flowers. Any time I see them, they have to be added to the blog.

Grandma in the dense forest.

Sydney and I having a good time.

Everyone wants in on that action!

Nature at its best.

A soft, fuzzy guy we found on the way.

Nanny loves leaves, then sometimes forgets that she's not just handed food.

It was weird seeing puffy white clouds then dark forboding clouds every twenty minutes.

The snake Grandpa found. Tanner is enthralled by anything Grandpa does.

Brave Sydney holding the snake.

Summer colors vs. fall colors

Did I mention Tanner likes Grandpa?

I think I did.

Sydney's pretty good about all the photo shoots at pretty locations. It's sad the lilly filled pond can't be in focus too.

Oh Nanny Boo! Lisa loves these shots with the kids looking up. They're pretty cute.

Willow Heights

Hike: Willow Heights
Location: Big Cottonwood Canyon

Willow Heights is gorgeous. Big Cottonwood Canyon becomes more and more beautiful as we get to explore more and more. This hike really takes the cake though. Willow Heights doesn't have an obvious marker from the street. You go up 12.1 miles from the mouth of the canyon, and there's a 35 mph sign on the left side, with a small area to park on the right side (just enough for a small line of cars). There's a rock that shows the trailhead just slightly past the 35 mph sign, with a sign to describe the hike thirty feet up the trail. It's about a 600 ft elevation gain, over 3/4 mile (one way). As beautiful as the area around the lake is, the scenery around the hike is more beautiful. The pictures tell the story of our hike.

The rock marking the trailhead to Willow Heights.

Tanner fell asleep early on the hike on the way up.

The trees are just gorgeous. I love the occasional pine tree that accents the beauty of this hike. You see more pines as you make it up the trail.

The lake and surrounding area is gorgeous. I wish the pictures weren't washed out. We definitely want to do this hike again. It was a little steep at times on the way up, so Sydney held my hand for five or ten minutes on the way down to keep from slipping.

There was a slight breeze, but I always love the reflection of mountains and trees on the water.

Lisa, as always, packed a yummy lunch for us. This time she packed a garbage bag for us to sit on, so when the kids rearranged and dropped their food, it wasn't rolling around in the dirt.

Tanner finally woke up halfway through lunch when I took the backpack off to get some rest.

Lunchables were lots of fun for the kids, keeping things clean and easy to eat.

Tanner and I went for a little walk before we headed back down.

As always, Sydney didn't want her picture taken on the way up, but was modeling once we got there.

Sydney's just a treat to photograph.

Nanny isn't a huge fan of leaving hats on, but she left it on during lunch for a little bit.

He was awake during lunch. Well...mostly.

Sydney loves using her hands to more fully explain her point.

What a cutie!

Sydney loves hiking. If we bring treats, she says she "out of energy" before we start walking to see if Lisa will budge on treats before lunch. She's always satisfied with granola bars on the way up and happy to have treats after lunch.

These are my favorite flowers. They're all over Big Cottonwood Canyon.

Nanny decided she was getting ready for a little nap. Her superpower of not taking naps wasn't going to hold up long. She fell asleep after a few minutes on the way down.

Well...if Nanny won't wear it...

A beautiful hike all the way. The canopy is so beautiful.

Solitude Lake

Hike: Solitude Lake
Location: Big Cottonwood Canyon

My love for Big Cottonwood Canyon grows every week. We had such a blast hiking part way around Silver Lake, then up to Solitude Lake. We figured out today that Twin Lakes comes off the same fork off Silver Lake, it's shorter, and just a little more steep. I think that and Willow Heights might be our next two hikes. But let's not get away from today. Lisa again packed a great lunch and snacks. We left lunch in the car as the hike wasn't too long and the snacks were perfect. It was supposed to hit 100 degrees in the valley, but under the shade of the trees on the hike, it was perfect! Since the hike is 1.4 miles each way, we were a little concerned about Mountain Goat (aka Sydney), but she did awesome. Here are the pictures.

Not her best shot, but you have to enjoy the "Addicted to Love" t-shirt.

Passing Silver Lake on the way up and down.

The far side of Solitude Lake.

Also on the far side. Couldn't decide which picture I liked better.

The boys enjoying the hike.

The beautiful scenery on the hike.

I found Sydney a walking stick. She was so cute with it.

Chubs (Tanner) and Nana (Natalie) enjoying snack time at the lake.

Sydney looking over the lake.

My life.

Visitors #1.

Visitor #2.

Dog Lake

Hike: Dog Lake
Location: Big Cottonwood Canyon
Company: none

About 2pm on Monday, Lisa informs me that our friends forgot about getting together last night and made other plans, and wondered if I wanted to go hiking. I think she knew the answer before asking. We have had a few hikes that we've wanted to do, and Sydney was thrilled that you could have twin lakes, so we went up to Brighton. However, we decided on the Dog Lake trail, as we couldn't find good directions to twin lakes. When we made it up to Dog Lake, the sun was starting to go down and we decided it best not to go the extra .3 miles to Lake Mary or the .5 after that to Lake Catherine. We unpacked dinner (Lisa made yummy pasta salad), and tried to kill all the mosquitoes around, but they were horrible. We had put on bug spray but it didn't have DEET and it was obviously not enough to keep them away. Lisa is always so prepared, it's the first time something has gone wrong. She's so amazing. Natalie and Tanner thought putting bananas in the dirt for extra protein was the best way to eat them. It was a good idea to head back after dinner as Sydney was pretty tired, after running around all day before hiking. I carried her down the last half mile, which balanced out Tanner moving around in the backpack. Here are the pictures:

The women-folk

Waterfall / river on the way up

A great shot of Brighton

The infamous Dog Lake



Proof we did have mosquito repellant

Mom...don't take pictures of me....mom...take pictures of me.

Our own Frisco Flyer (for all you Monk fans), though not in a green jumpsuit and goggles

Cecret Lake (yes...with a 'C')

Hike: Cecret Lake
Location: Little Cottonwood Canyon
Company: none

What a great day. I'm always looking forward to Saturday for the time we spend as a family hiking. A few years ago Lisa and I went up to Cecret Lake with Lisa's friends Steph and Neil. We remembered it being a lot of fun and decided we could make a mile and a half round trip. It was great to see Sydney (aka "Mountain Goat") have a ton of energy and easily make the hike. Almost to the lake, she said "I'm running out of air!", and we took a break. But otherwise, she was just awesome. Lisa made and packed us lunch, which we ate up next to the lake. It's kinda sad Sydney gets sick of us taking so many pictures, but almost always wants a personal photo shoot near the end of the trip. They're some of my favorites though. As with last trip, Tanner fell asleep in the backpack on the hike back. Here are some of my favorite pictures: