Lazy Hikers

Tuesday we went on a family hike east of our home. The children wanted to hike up the big mountain. We didn’t think Marianne would make it but let her come because she really wanted to go with the family. We decided to take a shorter hike. The older children grumbled and said the hike was not challenging or long enough. On the other hand, Marianne complained that her little legs were tired and she didn’t want to keep walking.

We saw cows and calves along the way. The children admired the little newborn calves and thought they were really cute. They marveled at the size of the mother cows. As they passed the large animals, they looked carefully to make sure there weren’t any charging bulls amongst the herd.

We made a gentle circle around to the backside of the small mountain (on the right side, larger mountain is in the background on the left side) situated directly behind our home. We decided to climb the mountain from the backside because the incline is more gradual. When we arrived at the top, we looked Westward and saw our home and the town of Paradise.

After taking in the beautiful view, we came down the west side of the mountain. It’s pretty steep, and we had to be careful as we made our way. It would be easy to loose footing and tumble to the bottom. The children made it down the hill without difficultly. Mom was carrying Emma and didn’t have great balance. She held tightly on to Dad's shoulder so he could break her fall if she started sliding.

All the way down the hill, Joseph was a worried about how he was going to cross the upper canal, which had a little water in the bottom. He was relieved and got a big smile on his face when Dad picked him up and carried him across the canal.

We had a great outing, but the older children still had energy and wanted something more. A bigger, better, longer, more challenging mountain hike would be exciting and welcomed. So on Wednesday after school we did it.

Marianne wanted to go hiking, but had learned that she did not like big hikes. Mom said that Emma and she could go on a little hike while the big kids went up the mountain with Dad. She was happy and satisfied with that option.

Even though Joseph is a good little hiker, Dad knew he wouldn’t make it all the way. He had Emily, Rachel, Joshua, Crystalynne, and Jonathan start hiking and told them that Joseph and he would catch up to them on the 4-wheeler. Jared and his friend joined the older kids part way up the mountain.

Everyone met up and hiked to the top out a huge rock on the mountainside together. We spent some time talking, playing, and looking through the binoculars. It was a warm clear day, and we were high enough to view most of Cache Valley. What a awesome sight. The town and valley appeared so small below. Being on top of the mountain gave us a better perspective – a new way of looking at things.

The older boys didn’t stick around long. They ran down the hill and were on their own. A while later, the remaining group started to descend the mountain. When they got to the four-wheeler, they begged Dad to give them a ride home. Dad succumbed to their pleas, and four tired kids piled on the 4-wheeler with Dad and Joseph. Even though we drove slowly, it was better than walking after such a long trek.

Mom and Marianne were just finishing up their “little hike” and were coming up the driveway when the 4-wheeler overflowing with people came home. She called us a bunch of lazy hikers. That could be true, but the children still protested. They had just hiked 5-6 miles uphill and did not consider themselves lazy.