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The first day she decided she could make it to Emerald. She jumped, skipped, and hopped the entire way.
We have a sort of reward system at home where the kids earn "gems" for doing the right thing and chores, etc, and trade them in for little prizes when they fill their jar. I thought it was a great idea when I mentioned she could earn 5 gems for picking up a piece of trash on the trail. Not sure why I said 5, which is a lot, but after all it is trash and she wasn't keen on picking it up. However, she got the idea why it was important and 5 gems is quite a payday. Well apparently a trash truck drove down the Emerald Lake trail earlier that day and lost most of its load because I've never seen so much trash. This little hike was costing me money as her pockets filled up with wrappers.
On the way back we took the old trail from Nymph to Bear and she thought I was pretty cool for having a secret path. +1 for Daddy.
The second day we made it to Mills Lake. I felt this was a good accomplishment for her and we explored the area including the opposite side of the lake which required some stream crossing (where she got her foot wet and didn't mind a bit) and some scrambling which she loves.
While at Mills we sat on the cliff that comprises the western shore. It's a semi secluded place since the path runs across the east shore, but surprisingly 3 college kids came up and sat down 15 feet in front of us. My natural reaction was to wonder why they couldn't find a differnt spot to sit in this huge area instead of on top of us, but then I overheard their conversation. One of them was considering a jump into the water.
I needed to see this and urged him on. Sure enough, he jumped at least 30+ feet. Not world record heights, but something you don't see everyday at Mills Lake. My daughter was not impressed and discussed the dangerous nature of cliff jumping the entire hike back. One less thing I need to worry about her doing as she gets older, I guess.
We took the fire trail back, which again made me look cool. She liked that it came out at the smiling rock I pointed out earlier. +2 for Daddy.
And on the third day we went to Cub Lake. It was hot on that trail, but she was a trooper.
She continued along leading the way through the dusty trail and steep final climb. We collected aspen leaves on our hiking poles like trash collectors stab at litter on the highway. It passed the time and soon enough we reached our destination. We made our way to the opposite side of the lake and she showed her quickness in finding a workable route over any obstacle, although her routes seldom worked for me since she simply ducked under fallen trees only feet off the ground.
We ate some snacks back near the trail and were joined by an army of chipmonks. Plenty of entertainment there.
As we returned she asked where the shortcut trail was. I didn't have one. -1 for Daddy.
Not to be outdone, my youngest also logged some distance to Alberta and Dream Lake. Her poor little legs were so busy keeping up wherever she went, but keep up she did!
Overall one of the best trips ever!
