Hike 'Em Up!

We stayed home for Memorial Day weekend this year. Not wanting the kids to be cooped up all weekend I decided that we would make a picnic and go on a hike. Whitney packed a backpack with PB&J sandwiches, chips and snacks, and we headed up Big Cottonwood Canyon to find a spot to hike.

I knew that due to higher than average snowfalls this year there might still be some snowdrifts to contend with, if we went too high. As I proceeded up the canyon I spotted a turnoff for the Mill B picnic area and decided to give it a try. After a quick bite to eat, we started up the Lake Blanche trail. I didn't know anything about it, but it was in front of us, so we started to climb.

The water level was high, and I threatened the kids to stay as far away as possible from the edge as we climbed the trail alongside the river. It was a beautiful hike, and not too strenuous for the kids, at least not at first.

At first the patches of snow we few and far between. A few steps and we'd be through them. But as we moved forward, they increased in number, and became longer. The kids were troopers, slipping and sliding up the trail. Before too long, it became too much. I knew we were close to the lake, but the trail had become impassable for them. I left them resting on a rock while I forged ahead, to see how much more diffiucult the climb would be. I returned with a verdict: Start back down.

After we got home, I looked up the trail and found this quote on the description: This is a VERY strenuous hike! The information page also listed the hike as a 6.6 miles round trip, with an elevation gain of ~2700 feet. Maybe a little too much for the kids. But I told them that we would try again in a month, after the snow had melted. Needless to say, the kids slept well last night.