Carbon River Glacier backpacking

After wanting to go backpacking again (since last summer) and having a crazy busy summer I finally decided, last minute to go on a trip.  I checked the weather and went and got the permit.  I was determined to go whether other people came along or not.  After making arrangements to go I discovered we could ride bikes in to the camp so I decided to do that.  Fortunately for me Auntie Kina was able to go and Kayda was feeling adventurous enough to go along. 

Our destination was Ipsut Creek Campground in Mt Rainier National Park.  Saturday afternoon we arrived and rode our bikes in the 5 miles to camp.  Once upon a time, you could drive to the campground, but after multiple wash outs they closed the road.

Along the way we stopped to take the very short hike to Chenuis Falls.

We ended up on these bridges multiple times throughout the trip.  Kayda hated that there was only a railing on one side going over the fast sections of river.

The lighting was so weird between the pool and the falls that it's hard to see both.  The pool at the bottom is a beautiful blue, you can see a little of it in the photo but it was actually richer than the photo shows.  I saw this and immediately thought how fun it would be to play in/on... then I felt the water.  SO cold.  Delicious (post filtering) but SO cold.

You can see the actual falls slightly better here.

It took us a while to get to camp because Auntie Kina was riding a road touring bike so we had to walk through all the areas with larger rocks in the road.  Once we finally made it was had dinner then headed on another super short hike to see Ipsut falls.  This one was pretty disappointing after Chenuis.  The picture isn't great since it was getting dark out, but you can see the wood debri that has accumulated right across the main falls. We climbed closer but the view got worse instead of better.  This was where we went whenever we needed to get water.  Kayda loves filtering the water...unfortunately I was the one that had to dip my hand in the glacial water to fill up the bottle to filter.

Kayda saw Jarrett carving designs in a stick at San Juan so she was making a "wand" for Auntie Kina.  

The next morning we ate, got our stuff together and took off on our hike.  Our destination was the Carbon Glacier View Point.  It's the headwaters for the Carbon river.

I have a weird fascination with stairs on hiking trails... I realized I did the same thing on our South Dakota trip.

We had to work our way across the entire river bed.  It's much wider than it appears in this photo.  We were lucky that people had put up cairns frequently because the trail was easily lost.

Hello Mt. Rainier. 

Kayda didn't want to cross the bridge since there was so little water and your could hopscotch across it. We decided to take a picture... When you're in a stream you should expect to get wet!

Auntie Kina was overwrought with terror when crossing this stream.

According to the maps the park service provides, the hike should've been about 7 miles round trip.  Auntie Kina's gps and mine didn't match up but at one sign it said we had gone 2.2, mine said 2.75 and hers said 3.25.  The sign also said we still had a mile and a half to go.  Auntie Kina has a lot of joint problems and decided to turn around an head back shortly after.  Kayda and I continued on (normally I wouldn't let her hike alone, but it was a heavily trafficked trail and we were going back the same way).

We found a suspension bridge along the way.  We didn't need to cross it but who sees one and doesn't go out on it?  It actually had a decent view of the glacier but we wanted to get to the actual "viewpoint".

When we finally go to the view, we were at 4.25 miles instead of the 3.5 the map had indicated.  Unfortunately, most of the glacier is covered in carbon so it wasn't very impressive.  You never go near the bottom of a glacier due to rock falls, but I really would've liked to get closer to actually SEE it.  From what we could see it surrounded by steep, loose rock walls.  It would've been really hard to get near it so we just at lunch and headed back.

All around we ended up hiking about 8.5 miles.  We were definitely ready to be done by the end of it but Kayda was a trooper.  We need to do this more frequently to do longer than that!

Monday morning we needed to get up, eat and get packed up so we could make it to lunch for Grandma H's birthday.  So we packed up and got back on the bikes.  Going back was SO much FUN!  We were able to ride through most of the wash outs and we were downhill 90% of the time.  So we got to coast for almost the whole 5 miles.  We were back to the car in an hour.  It was a great way to finish the trip.  We may just do this again since there are a lot of trails you can get to from this campground and the biking was so fun!

Side note:  Riding a bike with a fully loaded pack is a little tricky but is way better than hiking along an old gravel road for 5 miles (10 by the time you go round trip).  Beware when getting on and off your bike.  I almost fell just swinging my leg up on several occasions.

I love camping.  We normally trailer camp, occasionally car camp (drive up and tent), and pretty rarely backpack.  That list is definitely easiest to hardest.  Backpacking is becoming a favorite of mine.  It's an entirely different experience, I love being out where it's less busy and you don't have excess noise.  All the people around the campground were quiet and kept to themselves (but are very nice when you cross paths - hikers are just NICE).  There was no car or plane noise, no music no banging around chunky, heavy, metal gear.  It's just QUIET.  There is something special about it that I am coming to love.  Fingers crossed I can get out more than once next summer!

Carson is off training wheels!

Carson and I haves worked on riding without training wheels before.  He could do the actual riding but the starting and stopping made him too nervous. He insisted the training wheels be put back on.  

Today out of nowhere he decided that he wanted to ride without training wheels.   We are still working on his starting and stopping but he rode around the block and made the sharper turns to go up and down the street as well. 

 He had one fall,  as he likes to try to stop with his feet instead of his brakes but he got a bandaid and got right back to it! He is very excited and wants to practice more "next day" (his version of tomorrow).

Our little biker

On our camping trip Carson was OBSESSED with bikes.  He was constantly trying to get on brother and sister's bikes.  Ethan had a 12 inch wheel bike and I was looking at it going "Hmmm... I wonder if Carson could ride that..." So today while we were running errands we decided to try it.  Now I have been a bad daughter.  Grandma and Papa G were planning to buy the kids swim lessons for Christmas, yes I said Christmas.  Unfortunately timing just hasn't worked out for me to get them started.  (I'm hoping to get them started next week).  Anyhow.  They are now less expensive than we had thought so Grandma and Papa decided they could buy him a bike as a "You're mom took forever to get her act together so here is your Christmas present" type way.  I know, mom fail.  So the end of the story is we went to the store.  He got on the bike, immediately started pedaling and wouldn't get off the bike.  He rode up and down the isles for 15-20 minutes while we shopped and then as soon as we got home guess what he wanted to do again!  He's in love and oh so proud of himself.  A big THANK YOU to Grandma and Papa.  He is SUPER excited and LOVES it.  Not even two and riding a bike.... crazy, just crazy.

Bike Rides Galore!

Thursday was a beautiful, busy day for us.  I got Dillon onto the bus for preschool (it just started, it's an hour ride to school but he still wants to take it, I offered to drive him instead).  Then Kayda, Carson and I got dressed and ran off for lunch with Grandma and Papa H and Daddy.  We had a nice relaxing lunch and on the way home Kayda started talking about how she wanted to go on a bike ride to her school.  She asked if we could ride our bikes to pick up Dillon.  So as soon as I got home I was trying to find a way to transport Dillon's bike with us to school.

   I quickly adjusted the seat to a higher position and then tied it onto the back of the bike trailer.  It worked out quite well!  I threw in his helmet, some coats just in case the rain started and off we went!

 The wonderful thing about our new town is that riding our bikes to town, or to the kids' schools, the library, the grocery store, the big park, etc, does not require any strenuous riding so the kids can ride it no problem. It also doesn't require us to be on any roads.  There are sidewalks through our whole neighborhood and then an old rail road turned trail we can take from there!  Kayda wants to ride her bike ALL the time now!

We got to Dillon's school in 15 minutes and got to play on the playground for a little while.  He was even out playing with us for a while until they had to go in for snack.

 Then we headed around the building and played on Kayda's school playground for a while.  She has been wanting to show me that she can go all the way across the monkey bars even though they go up in the middle!

 Dillon hasn't figured out how to go anywhere with the rings... Doesn't stop him from wanting to play on them though!

 Finally the buses left, the parking lot emptied out and Kayda decided she was "getting worn out and wanted to head home."  I untied Dillon's bike and it was too tall.  His toes could just barely touch the ground and he refused to ride it.  Of course I didn't bring the tool with me to adjust it again so I ended up towing Carson, Dillon and Dillon's bike back home.  I'm glad the trail's flat!

 Once we were back at home the kids didn't want to stop playing outside so out came the scooters and such.

 They kept playing until Daddy got home.  We ate dinner and guess what, they wanted to go on another bike ride.  So back out we went to explore the trail going to OTHER direction.

 Hank proved to be quite the cycling dog.  Maybe I should buy him a harness...

 I was worried about Hank making it back home so we stopped not too far up the trail and walked to the bridge.  Of course all the kids were fascinated with the river.

 Until a girl came riding through with her horse....  She was kind enough to let the kids pet her horse.

Dillon wasn't quite ready for them to go so he ran alongside them for a short while. 

 Then we headed back home to bedtime!  I'm glad we took advantage of the clear weather.  Today it started pouring and it's supposed to continue all weekend.

 And this is just random.  Isn't he sweet all cuddled in with the many blankets looking at a photo book! He points out his Grandmas and Papas now!

No More Training Wheels

Since we got home from our last camping trip it has been in Kayda's and Dillon's heads to practice riding their bikes without training wheels.  So we FINALLY had an evening with time to do it.  Daddy, Dillon and Carson were off choosing a movie for movie night and Kayda and I had finished a couple of chores so I decide "Might as well go out and get the training wheels off."  Then I decide "Well, it won't hurt to let Kayda practice a little before Daddy gets back."  So she gets her tennis shoes on, climbs on the bike and I explain to her how to choose which foot to push with and which foot to start pedalling with.  So I'm holding onto her sides a bit and then she starts, I'm jogging a long beside her and within 5 feet I am NOT holding onto her at all and she makes it all the way down the driveway, a good 30 feet.  WHAT!?!  Last time we tried was at Taidnapam and she was NOWHERE close to being able to do it.  So I'm thinking "Where did this come from?!"  We try again.  Off she goes no problem!  So I started working with her on turning and talking to her about how to stop, you know use your brakes and when you start to tip put a foot down.  Holy Cow!  I am SO surprised. 

At this point Daddy still isn't home yet so we go inside and make some phone calls (thanks Grandmas for being SO excited for her).   She told Grandma H that she "Surprised herself!". When Daddy gets home Kayda and I have a secret.  I tell Daddy "I got the training wheels off so lets practice a bit before it gets too dark."  So he gets all ready to help her and she takes off again...SURPRISE DADDY she can ride her bike without training wheels... magically.  Seriously it was like she threw a switch!

So once she has shown off for Daddy we get Dillon on his (I'd already taken off his training wheels too).  He gets on there and is a little wobbly with Daddy jogging beside him holding onto his sides.  "Pedal faster Dillon" so he does.  Next thing you know he's making it 10-15 feet without help and stopping without help!  He still needs to learn how to turn and how to start but WAY TO GO!!!  So we now have TWO resident training wheel-free kiddos!  We are so excited for them!

Of course I have no pictures because I really didn't expect tonight to be that "Magic night".  I figured there would be a few more trial runs than this.

Farragut State Park

A week ago Sunday Grandma and Papa G were off to Farragut State Park.  The plan was that we would meet up with them on Tuesday when our camping spot opened up.  Kayda had decided weeks in advance that she was going to go with them.  Of course that was difficult enough for us, it's hard to be away from any of the children for very long.  Well Sunday morning came and Daddy, Carson, Dillon and I are all dressed and ready to head off to church, saying our last goodbyes when Dillon decides "I want to go!"  So we packed his stuff as quickly as we could and they headed off to Idaho. 

They did really well on the car ride.  Of course we made plenty of calls over the next couple of days to check in on them and say goodnight and such. 

They had a great time at Lake Pend Oreille with the sharks Grandma and Papa G got for them. 

Apparently at one point Dillon's shark started floating out away from shore, with him on it.  He slipped off and started to panic.  Papa G tells me that all Dillon needed to do was put his feet down.  Don't know where the panic came from, he's usually pretty brave in the water.

Meanwhile Daddy, Carson and I headed to Moses Lake Monday night and spent the night there, then we headed off to Farragut on Tuesday.  We got there right around 2 and were VERY happy to be able to snuggle our big kids again.  Though it was nice to be temporarily down to one kid again!

After we got there and had set everything up the kids were off playing. I came back to say hi to Grandma and Papa G and found this, a minute earlier Grandma was also asleep. I think the kids wore them out! Course Papa G spent FIVE HOURS at the lake with them on Monday!

Carson was quite happy to be wandering around, he is very excited to get his shoes on now because he realized how much nicer they are to walk in!

The first night there Carson and Brett got to take a bath.  About 5 seconds later Carson started freaking out.  Weird since normally nothing can bother him when there is water around!

These two girls were inseperable this trip!  They were apart to sleep.... and not much else.  Ella rode with us in the car, went on all kinds of activities with us.  This particular day I was doing Kayda's hair because her hair gets CRAZY, Ella decided to let me do her hair too and they would match.  Well they decided on three ponytails and took turns choosing a color.  When I did Ella's hair the rubberband wasn't quite strong enough so she was going to have to put in an extra rubberband.  The color they had designated for that spot was gone.  I asked them what color they thought I should use.  Kayda started to say "purple" and Ella said "purple" and Kayda continued to go "I said purple too!!!"  and they got all excited.... we're in trouble...

This little dude is just the cutest.  When there is water around he'll scooch around on his bum to get to it and then he's happy as a clown once he gets there. 

Papa G got REALLY worn out towing the raft around that first day so he got smart and busted out the flippers!

That raft was BUSY.  Those kids wanted to be in it most of the time, the last day there Uncle Pat and Aunt Sarah also had a kayak so the kids would bounce back and forth between the two, occasionally playing with the sand, throwing rocks or playing with the intertubes.

 We decided to set the baby out, alone in the middle of the lake on a random rock... not really, if you look you can see Papa G underwater.

 Checking Papa G out.

 On Wednesday the programs started.  There was a junior ranger nature scavenger hunt.  Carson fell asleep so I stayed with him and also fell asleep while Daddy, Kayda, Dillon, Ella, Mikey, Peyton, and Uncle Scott went to it.  Each kid earned a junior ranger badge and had a great time "seeing", "smelling", "hearing" and "touching" the various things on their lists.  It was led by Larry a volunteer there at Farragut.  Whom we ended up seeing again the next day on another adventure.

 Here's Dillon hanging out at the Navy Officers' barbeque pit area.

 Making a list and checking it twice...

 Brotherly love.  Carson LOVED sitting in his very own chair.  He didn't care which one but he loved to sit in one all by himself.

 The rest of the crew hanging around the campfire.  The adults were kicked out of our chairs.

 See, poor Aunt Anna holding Brett and chairless!!! 

 Meanwhile....roasting marshmellows.

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 Kayda and Dillon had flashlights, Ella did not so they were quiding her around in the dark.

 At one point all THREE of these boys were sitting on this longboard as it rolled.

 "Hmmm... Mommy and Daddy said no but it looks REALLY interesting!"

 Catching bugs with the cousins

The afore mentioned bugs.

 Some Grandma H loves.  They were so excited to show her their bugs!

 Thursday's adventure was a nature hike down "Squirrel Cache Trail".  Guided by none other than Larry!  These kids had SO much fun together!  We learned a LOT of interesting things, how to tell apart Lodge Pole Pines (sets of 2 needles), Ponderosa Pines (sets of 3 needles), Grand Firs (grow in batches of 3 and flat like your hand) and Douglas firs (needles grow all around like a bottle brush).  Names of some various plants, what pine pedal piles are from (squirrels eating newly formed pine cones), we also got to see a tree that a wood pecker REALLY likes.

 Here's the crew!  Daddy, Carson, Kayda, Dillon, Ella, Aunt Anna, Uncle Scott, Brett, Peyton, Mikey and me.  It was our own personal tour since we were the only ones there!

 This little shelter was apparently built by the boy scouts and moved here at some point, all the logs are numbered and labelled based on where they were in the shelter.

 Here's the wood pecker tree!  The kids even got to put their hands in the holes!

 When I was little I used to find bark that had "trails" from the bugs on it.  I would pretend it was a map and play.  Dillon found a piece of bark like that and I told him.  Pretty soon he had a treasure map but then he got a short stick and that was his pen to mark where he had been.

 Kayda was too scared to do this at first, so I started it with Dillon.  It was fun to take them over to the bathrooms this way!

 This is Brian, a friend of Nathan's who has come on our camping trips before.  Dillon decided he REALLY like Brian, partly because Dillon's middle name is Brian.  So Brian had a little mini-me, hero worship thing going on.

 Dog pile!

 At the city beach in Sandpoint.  Here are Grandma and Papa H with all 11 of their grandchildren.

 And here is the Grandma and Papa H branch, minus Uncle Greg and Aunt Liz and adding in the "adopted" Brian.

 Brian was spinning Dillon around so his legs flew up in the air.

 Dillon was having a great time wrestling with Jarrett on the grass.

 Escorting Carson to the water.  Such a good big sister and cousin.

 Carson was trying to make his way back to the water, Jarrett and Mikey were trying to distract him for me.... it didn't work.

 Pretty soon the water faucet became the playground for a whole bunch of small children.  Carson included.

 Playing "kick the can" Dillon was helping Aileena and spotted Nathan for her.

 Ah!!!  Cousin hugs!

 And there is Brian...  Dillon loved that boy.

 Gnome pictures on Lake Pend Oreille.

 We took Ella with us to do the gnome pictures and stopped by the visitor center on the way back.  Ella, Dillon and Kayda decided to get skunks so that they could "stink" people.  The first victim was Papa H.  His response was "You know I didn't notice a difference because it smells how you always smell"  or something along those lines...

 Uncle Pat and Nathan were determined to have a BON fire.  So they made a huge stack of firewood and lit it.

 And nobody would go near it...  Until Uncle Pat decided to use his tongs and start lowering the upper logs so they didn't crash down towards somebody.

 Since Grandma and Papa G are going to be gone for Carson's first birthday they wanted to watch him eat cake.  He REALLY likes cake...  Oddly he wouldn't feed himself, Grandma G had to feed it to him.

We spent Friday down at the lake Carson really enjoyed floating on the interubes with Daddy and I.  We spent the day playing with the kayak, the raft, the interubes and the sand toys.  I spent a good part of it playing sea monster or tug boat for the kids while Daddy did the dry land play.