We drove up in the morning and ate a picnic lunch before we started on our hike. The kids liked eating lunch perched on the edge of the trunk.
Cameron and Leah ready to go at the trail head.
The start of the trail was a slow incline through the woods; it was kind of like walking through Beaver Lake.
Aaron riding in style with Mama
Cameron contemplates a large tree
Poppa and Mama helping Leah up some of the rocks. Pretty soon she figured out her own way up.
I think Cam would have run up the mountain if we let him. He kept going ahead and then having to wait for us all to catch up.
Climbing with Nana and Poppa
Cameron forging ahead
It was a beautiful day on a beautiful trail
An excellent hiker
Enough with pictures, I've got mountains to climb
Part way up there is a nice place to stop that has a beautiful view
Cameron wasn't too interested in the view for long, he wanted to get to the top! It might have had something to do with a story Poppa told them about an ice cream shop on the fire tower.
Climbing up some rocks. Aaron slept for most of the way up, he wasn't bothered by the climbing.
Cameron helping Leah over the muddy spot
Taking a break with Poppa
Another beautiful view
One cute kiddo in front of the view
And a family picture!
The beginnings of Leah's new move, the bear crawl
Cameron found a walking stick. He also liked to use it for jumping, vaulting and hitting trees.
Aaron thinks this walk is a piece of cake.
Leah was jealous of Cameron's walking stick so he looked around for one for her. After trying out several that weren't quite right, she gave up the search.
It wasn't a peak weekend for leaves, but they were still very beautiful.
Are we there yet?
Aaron is awake and smiling! You would be too if you got to ride all the way to the top rather than hiking.
Figuring out the bear crawl move
Showing Poppa how it is done. She did not want any help once she figured out that she could do it by herself.
King of the hill
Bear crawling to the top of the hill
One, two, three... jump!
Balance beam rock
Giving Leah a hand across
It's important to stop to hydrate... even if it is in the middle of a very skinny path so no one else can go past you. Luckily Leah is cute so no one was bothered by it.
Nana and Cameron going ahead
Peeking through the trees
There were gorgeous views in every direction
They were pretty far ahead
We're coming, we're coming!
Finally we got to the top where there was a fire tower to climb up. We had to wait in line and only a few people could be on the stairs or in the tower at once. We finally all got to be in the tower. Cameron and Leah were sorely disappointed that the ice cream shop wasn't up there. There were amazing views though.
Nana and Cam climbing back down
There goes Mama and Aaron
Since we were at the top, Aaron could come out! Aaron was very happy about that and so was Mama.
Our snack spot at the top, fire tower in the background
View from our snack spot
Say cheese!
Mama and Aaron
Yep, I'd say he is the cutest baby who ever climbed that mountain
Daddy and Aaron
Cameron and Leah, both of whom did an AMAZING job climbing all the way up on their own.
Family picture at the top of Bald Mountain
Per Leah's request, a silly picture to follow the nice one!
Checking out the view
Leah wanted a picture with just her and Daddy. Apparently she also wanted to eat her shirt.
Trying to get Aaron to have a quick snack of his own.
There was way too much going on, he was not interested in snacks of any kind.
Ready to climb back down!
My handsome hiker
On our way down. The kids had fun sliding down the rocks that were too steep to just walk down.
We are getting close to the car
Almost there, come on...
Nana and Cameron heading down to look for leaves
Here are the leaves they found
Back at the flat foresty part
One cute baby in the car on the way home
It was a great hike, we all really enjoyed it. We were beyond proud of the kids for doing such a good job, not complaining, and walking the entire way up and down. Leah especially, who is pretty tiny and has short legs - she did amazingly! Needed help sometime but was proud to be working hard and doing it by herself. Cameron did so well too, but that was no surprise!!
On the way home we stopped for some yummy ice cream, to make up for the lack of ice cream in the fire tower. The kids were very happy with that and soon they all conked out for the ride home.
