Aside from our families occasional camping trip, we're not much of the outdoor adventurer type. Now, Chris would disagree with this statement because growing up (and during his bachelor days) he was the outdoor adventure type. He loved strapping on a backpack, hiking into the mountains and returning several days later. NOT my idea of fun.
But since moving to Cache Valley, I've been wanting to get out and see some of the cool places that people talk about. Not to mention, with Chris's busy summer schedule, I have to give him a reason to take a few Saturday's off here and there.
Wind Cave, Logan. People I'd talked to said it was super cool and a moderately easy hike. Great for kids. And it was... or, eh... would have been had we been a little more prepared.
The cave itself was impressive and the views of Logan Canyon were beautiful!
Once up there, we loved and enjoyed the cool breeze that blew through the cave, the scenery and the chance to rest our legs. Getting up there was the challenge...
Before you criticize, I fully expected to climb a hill. However, not being able to judge distances or height very well, I had no idea that climbing 1000 feet in 1.5 miles was so steep. We all felt the burn.
This brings me to our lack of preparedness, which I have no one to blame but myself. My first mistake was reading about the hike on the Utah.com website (http://www.utah.com/thingtodo27491.htm). It was very, very vague. Had I Googled other websites, which included reviews, I would have been told that:
a) it was more than 3 miles there an back.
b) this hike is tough for really young kids
c) that most of the hike is in the sun
This hike best hiked in the early morning hours. We didn't even leave the house until after 10:30, so we hiked in 90+ degree weather. It. Was. Hot.
We brought water, but not nearly enough, and wished we'd had extra water in the car when we got back.
I also did not pack snacks. I honestly thought we'd be back by lunchtime, so felt no need to pack a load of food up the mountain. This was probably my biggest mistake.
It took us some time to make it to the cave, but we did. At least a dozen times, were heard kids say that they weren't sure they could finish. I don't know how, but we convinced them that they would be proud of themselves if they made it to the top.
And they were.
Getting down was much easier that getting up... for all of us expect probably Jolene.
See the blond cutie with the flashlight? She's 4 and had to be carried both up... and down. Jolene was a rockstar and obliged, since the little one refused to ride on Chris's shoulders. He even tried to bribe her with ice cream to offer her mom a break. It didn't work.
Needless to say, we were all exhausted, thirsty, sweaty and starving when we arrived back at the cars around 2:00. We drove straight to the closest restaurant, even though we were dirty and most certainly smelly.
Poor Brielle. My lack of preparedness took its biggest toll on her. We gave her water, sprite, salad, pizza... anything in an attempt to get her to eat. Nothing worked. She was sick. After having only a bowl of cereal at 7:00 that morning before the hike, some water and a few grapes given to her by another hiker, all she wanted to do was throw up. She was sick.
Chris and I ate, bailed on our friends, and headed home. Within minutes of being in the car, Brielle was asleep. It took another hour or so, but she finally work up, ate some food and was back to her spunky self.
She even told me she'd do it all over again. IF... I brought more water and food. Turns out our family does have a little bit of an outdoor adventurous spirit. This will certainly not be the last hike of the summer, with so many more places to explore nearby. We will, however, do a bit more planning the next time, and most definitely be better equipped.
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