Lion, Eclectus, Peacock, Penguin, and I went on a Trail hike near our Hot Spot Vacation Cabin... we had INTENDED to go on a moderate hike of anywhere from 3-8 miles, mostly on flat or gently rolling terrain and walk-behind waterfall of a certain trail, but the Park road with access to the -jump-off point for the the Trail was closed for maintenance.... so, the gentle relatively easy hike we had planned got preempted and we had to roll with the punches and take was what was available....We started on another trail, intending to go from there to the jump-off point for the Falls Trail... we figured this only added 3 miles to the hike... no big deal right?? WRONG.
the before picture We ended up hiking 3 miles with up-down STEEP terrain with a total elevation gain of 953 feet & 3 creeks we negotiated without a bridge... considering I'm 20 weeks pregnant, 4 of 5 of our hiking members are overweight, 1 member has diabetic neuropathy in her feet, and another has asthma, this wasn't going to be an easy hike! Lion and Peacock were really the only ones who hiked it with little to no difficulty, the rest of us were struggling to various degrees. I really enjoyed the hike, but found the very steep uphill portions very difficult, having to stop every 20-40 feet to slow my breathing and ensure I wasn't pushing my pregnant overweight a$$ to much... Unfortunately Penguin and Eclectus got the worst of it... Asthma and Diabetes are not good thinks to have on long strenuous hikes... Penguin did great on the downhill and mostly level parts of the trail, but those steep uphill portions that were making me stop so often were really causing asthma issues with her... Eclectus, contrarily, did great on the UPHILL portions and of course the level areas - it was the steep downhills that did her in... knees and feet weren't feeling great. BUT WE ALL enjoyed the hike... mostly (at least the pictures made it look like we were having a good time!!)!!
I admit though, that we DID NOT hike all the way back to the truck... Penguin, Eclectus, and I weren't sure we would make those steep uphill climbs again, and we were almost out of water (even though we brought 2 gallons!!)... so we decided to try to take the road back to the truck... unfortunately, the road way was a LOT longer. Wonderfully for us, a park service truck happened by and graciously allowed up to hitch a ride down the mountain to the truck... YAY forest service guys - - GOD BLESS YOU!!!! So we all made it back to the cabin, exhausted!! Now after showers and Papa John's Pizza, we are heading out the the hot tub for a good soak!
the after picture - - you may not be able to tell, but we were ALL soaked - - and of course this was AFTER our forest service truck ride!! LOL
2 comments:
Pretty sure I would have fell over if that were me LOL. Sheesh! And do that while pregnant? I'm amazed!
I love your blog! My blog is called the Zoo too. We have 4 kids under 4! :)
wow!! 4 under 4?! I don't envy you!
and yes,Lion even commented to me after the it posted that the 900 some-odd elevation increase was just for the initial climb... then we went up and down and up and down after that... so we probably climbed that 900 some-odd feet at least twice!
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