Our First Hike of the Summer

I told the kids after swim lessons we would start hiking every morning. We went to Waterfall Canyon in Ogden. After seeing it on my cousins blog I thought it looked like a fun hike for kids. At the beginning of the hike JJ found a cactus. Emma had never seen one before. They were pretty excited.

I had to pack water and snacks. I knew I would not be able to carry it so I packed the littlest backpack that we had which happened to be Ellies. I figured that Emma could carry it. Well, Ellie had to do it for about 20 minutes after all it was her backpack. Cute little bug.
JJ enjoying the cool water in his hat.
Boo and Mommy
Emma standing on the bridge crossing the creek.

Well, I was a bit wrong about this being a easy hike. Don't get me wrong, the older kids loved it but Ellie was a bit to little for it. We hiked up this really easy path making me think it was a great hike. We were told by this man that you come to a bridge and then it isn't to much from there.
He said the terrain is a bit steep but you should be okay. He forgot to mention ROCKY.
I am thinking this can only be for a little while. Well we kept going and going and the rocks kept coming.

I decided we probably needed to head back. We had to wait for JJ because he had gone on ahead to see if he could see anything. As we are waiting some people coming back down came by. They said "Oh it is beautiful you have to keep going". So we pushed on. Then we stopped again with the same thoughts of heading back down. Same thing happened again only this time the couple told us "it wasn't to much further". I figured we had made it this far it would be a shame to miss the waterfall. We continued on. As we were approaching the top of the mountain I finally see JJ. He comes to tell us that we need to cross the creek in order to see the waterfall. He tried to go the way we were going but had to climb a really steep mountain to get there and he thinks it would be too hard for Ellie. So we find a place to cross and make it up to the waterfall. The waterfall was beautiful. The only problem was that you are basically standing on a steep slope so you have to sit with your legs in front of you to stop you from falling down. This was not that relaxing with two scared out of their minds little kids. It was finally peaceful when the two little ones stopped crying. We sat and enjoyed our snacks and the cool wet breeze.

Remember that steep mountain that JJ mentioned, well it is the one behind him. He pretty much was rock climbing without a rope. I would say he was a good 100 feet up. We are lucky nothing happened to our little dare devil.

Then it was time to head back down. I knew that I was pretty much spent. I had carried Elsie all the way and Ellie part of the way. My poor little muscles were not all to happy with me. I said a little prayer that we would be okay going back down and I asked Heavenly Father to give me the strength I needed to get us back down safely. I put Elsie on my back just in case I had to carry Ellie. We start on our way and Ellie completely freaks out. I think she was looking down the mountain instead of just in front of her. So I pick her up and we are off. I kept getting passed by other hikers saying things like "what a woman" or "you sure have your hands full" or my favorite "you are super Mom" My response to that was "or insane Mom"
JJ and Emma are helping me by telling me where to put my feet and JJ would lift Ellie down the big rocks. We are doing good but I was getting tired. It was a lot of weight to carry. That is when we see this guy going up the mountain. He was nice and said hi and asked us the easiest path. We crossed the river and headed down some more. Then again that same guy came by us only going back down. This time he asked if he could help us out. I said "No we are fine." He then tells me he normally hikes with his kids and would love to carry one of mine on his shoulders. So I tell him if he would just take Ellie to the end of the rocks I think she would be able to do the rest. He grabs her and off we go. I was SHOCKED at how much rock there was. It took us a good twenty minutes at a fast pace to get down those rocks. I realized that there is no way I could have carried both of the girls through all of the rock. The man who helped us get down the mountain was the answer to my prayer. I am so grateful that he came and helped us down the mountain. It just shows that Heavenly Father listens even to my little prayers. It was a great thing to tell the kids about. They had seen it all happen. They could see the prayer being answered.

We said our goodbyes to our angel, and proceeded down. Ellie was walking and doing great. Then she was done. She no longer would walk a single step.

I then had to carry her again. This time it was easy terrain so I was okay. We sang songs and walked down the rest of the way. JJ agian had ran on ahead. As we are walking we see JJ's hat on the trail. I got scared to death. he would not just leave his hat and not notice. So with a lot of panic Emma and I run to see if we can see him. We get to the bottom and there is JJ waiting for us. I was so relieved to see him. He was crying though. he had fallen down the trail and got banged up. He didn't notice he had lost his hat because he was wearing Elsie's hat underneith his own. Imagine this boy standing at the bottom of the trail crying with a little baby girl hat on. He was a site. Poor kid.
Once we got home I checked out the info about this hike. Just to see if I am a huge wimp or if it really was as difficult as I thought. It was a 3-4 mile hike, "Description: This short but strenuous hike includes a rugged scramble over steep, rocky terrain, yet it has long been one of Ogden’s most popular hikes thanks to the spectacular 200-foot waterfall at the upper end of the canyon. Please don’t be tempted to climb the cliffs around the waterfall. It’s illegal and several hikers have fallen to their deaths from the treacherous rocks." How do you like that discription. The picture doesn't do it justice on how steep of a cliff JJ was on. Scares me to death. He was a t least 100 feet up. I will have to have a talk with that boy. I will have to say it was an adventure that is full of memories. And Yes, we will be going on more hikes. I learned that I am a lot stronger than I thought. I learned JJ and Emma can handle anything. I learned to check out a hike before I go on it. I learned that Ellie is a trooper. When we got to the car and took off our shoes Ellie's poor little feet were smashed. Maybe that is why she wouldn't walk anymore. Poor bug. Most important thing that I learned is that Heavenly Father answered my little prayer, and the gratitude that I feel from that is overwhelming.