We got ambitious the other day... The evening hike we went on the night before General Conference inspired Stan to hike to the crest up that trail. Our plan was to hike up and then ride the tram down. A total of 8.2 miles. In all honesty, I really didn't think much about the overall task ahead, I tried more to focus on the next step. Maybe that's why we do crazy things :) Here's how it all went down:
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| Here we are at the trailhead so happy and ready to go. |
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We slowly started our ascent
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| It was a beautiful forest, so quiet and serene |
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| Scott konked out pretty quick |
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| Stopped for a break for some free moving |
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| And Dad took over |
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| Looking out towards Albuquerque, too low in the tree lines to see much |
My handsome boys
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| That's where we're headed |
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| Aspens! |
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| It was so beautiful to have the sun come out for a little bit |
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| Little higher leads to a better view of the city |
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| And higher |
The higher we got, the clearer it became. It was a beautiful day, but a little windy. We made it to the fork in the road and it was just another threeish miles to the tram. We were pretty tired and Scott was getting grumpy and so we figured the shortest route would be the best...
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| View on the other side of the mountain looking east. |
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| What you can't see in this beautiful picture is that Scott was screaming... |
And he wouldn't calm down, so I held him, and we hiked, and he fell asleep.
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| We carried him for a good couple miles and then he woke up...still grumpy |
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| And then we found snow, and it was cold, and we learned the need to be more prepared for that. |
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| The last mile was THE LONGEST mile I have every hiked. Scott was so grumpy and would not do his carrier, so we traded off carrying him, letting him walk, and taking breaks. I began to wonder if we would ever make it. |
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| But we did |
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| And the view was breathtaking |
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| We rode the tram down...Scott wasn't too sure of it at first, but then he liked it |
We had this brilliant plan: we had borrowed someone's carseat and then shuttled a car to the tram parking lot. Well...the keys to that car got left in the car in the other parking lot where we had hiked from about three miles away. We are grateful for friends who will come help us out :)
This is how I found the boys waiting by the Corolla after I went to go get the car/keys :) I have such handsome/cute boys!
We drove straight to Five Guys and had ourselves delicious burgers and french fries. It was a very trying day but a good experience now that it's over :) I'm grateful for Stan and his example and support. He is such a good dad, always able to make Scott laugh and feel better.