PetersonFamily: Labor Day Weekend 2012

We went camping over Labor Day and two of our daughters joined us at different times. This is a picture of Mt. Adams I have taken many times over the years. It's just past Trout Lake on the way to Indian Heaven. It's interesting to compare photos from year to year as this year has little snow - last year it was still covered.

Phil and I were in camp on Thursday to save spots for everyone coming. We took a hike into Indian Heaven by ourselves on Friday.

This beauty was just sitting on the ground waiting for me!

We ran into some workers for the Washington Trail Association. They were building this bridge. Others were coming up the next day to spend the week doing trail work. We passed the guys on horses earlier who had brought up the supplies - including the lumber, nails and equipment. The poles they get from the forest.

Another beauty.

Lemei Rock. We hiked the trail on the other side of this hill several years ago. We didn't plan on going farther than where the workers were but the one guy was very knowledgeable about the area and said this loop was beautiful. Lots of meadows and lakes tucked into the forest.

Part of the trail connects with the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail). These are some new type of markers we saw and we saw several types during our treks. This one is cool - kind of like woodburning I remember the guys doing when I was growing up.

Guess what? We were the second people to cross the new bridge when we completed our hiking loop. By the time we got back to camp our little 4-5 mile hike had become 10.8 miles!

Of all the places we've camped this year this particular spot was inundated with "camp robbers". They were very bold and brazen to the point of trying to take food out of your hand. Unless the food was covered it wasn't safe. However with the many kids we had with us there was plenty to clean up off the ground so we were able to leave a clean campsite!

This is Alara with grandpa. This is her first camping trip and she loved it. She likes being outside so she was happy. In fact she wasn't nearly so clingy to her mom as she usually is.

Grace: "Look what I can do"

Aubrey: "So can I"

Another example of the PCT signs.

And we're off on another hike. This time we parked the car at one end and hiked into the campground.

Gotta catch up to grandpa. Notice how dusty the place was.

Somebody had fun with a mushroom!

Fun is finding a funky tree! This is Grace

Kaylee

Aubrey

We talked with a boss of one of the trail crews the day before. As we were talking he pulled out hemlock seedlings along the trail. I laughed and told him he could get away with that but if I brought up our grandkids?? He told us to please pull out the seedlings within a 3-4 ft distance of the trail. It's trail maintenance and saves them from having to cut them down later on when they've encroached over the trails. He thanked us profusely for bringing our grandkids into the woods - it's not that common anymore. So when Grace started complaining I explained this to her and she loved pulling the trees - even if it did slow the pace some.

We took the trail option with a view (told to us by the WTA people). This is where we stopped for lunch. Panorama view of Mt. Adams. Mt. Rainier was to the far left - Becky tried to climb out to get a better shot. We planted the kids on rocks to eat their lunch. No play room here.

Mt. Adams

Mt. Rainier

Mt. St. Helen's

Another rock outcropping with a view of Mt. St. Helen's and Mt. Rainier - to the right this time.

Huckleberry season. The trail was quite narrow here and steep on the right side but enough bushes for everyone to pick their fill - again slowing the pace some.

Even the top of Mt. Hood could be seen.

This is a view of where we just came from. If you were to blow it up you could see the hikers behind us as they start down the top of that hill. The trail zig-zagged down the side. Scary enough for me but when you have kids along!!!!

Aubrey and Lorien did very well on the hike. Though toward the end they had to be helped a bit. They were soooo cute together. It was a game to run ahead and wait till grandma caught up and then run off again. I told them to stick their dirty faces together for me. I should have got pictures of some of the purple hands that picked berries.

Hayden, Kaylee and Grace eventually became the leaders just in front of grandpa. Laughing and egging each other on kept them from whining too much. This little 4-5 mile hike ended up being 6.5 miles and a lot of going UP. The trail finally turned DOWN to the campground. At one junction Jon followed the PCT back to his car. On the map it looked longer... NOT. He was in camp 1/2 hour before us and said it was a nice flat trail.

Here's our little band of hikers at the campground entrance. This statue was carved out of the tree there back in 1988.

Aubrey had to have a break with her mom so they came in a bit after the rest. As difficult as the hike was, the next day we heard at least one kid ask to go again. Adults? no way. In two days Phil and I just put 17 1/2 miles on our legs.

Hayden had a birthday party while camping. He was turning 8 (Sept 4)

This little cutie is Mandie's youngest, Alara.

Camping + dirt = bath in dish bucket!

We had a small campsite next to us that remained empty all weekend. Guess no on wants to camp next to a bunch of little kids. Hayden, Sam (friend) and Lorien used it to play "Go Fish".

Sam's dad brought Jiffy Pop with him and the kids loved watching it grow. They loved eating it too but certainly left plenty for the "camp robbers" to partake of.

Everyone gets a family shot at "Indian Viewpoint". We have many from here over the years. Some years aren't so sunny. This is Becky's family. They were with us on Friday and Saturday.