And we got one.

The other two hikers got a hitch fairly quickly but it took us a little longer. Eventually Taut picked us up and we went off. We got to the trailhead at like 930 or so, had our permits checked and headed out to Cottonwood Pass.

It was pleasant. I had a bit of a hard time – I didn’t sleep well last night so I was tired but it was a pretty straight forward hike. The kids were in a good mood. There was a lot of water and I barely broke a sweat (which is awesome considering my clothes are clean).

We had some leftover cider from town. Natasha and I shared a tall can while having lunch by a creek. Natasha finished it while walking.

At the junction we reached the kids highest elevation yet. 11132 feet. It was so pretty. Secret saw snow and got super excited.

We got to Chicken Spring Lake. It reminds me of Window Mountain Lake a bit. We took a short break. Secret soaked his feet. Then we headed on.

We eventually found a nice spot a little close to the trail before the next lake. We figured we’d camp there instead of the site listed on Farout to avoid any crowds. It’s pretty here. Lots of climbing opportunities for the kids. The tent site I picked was very flat. It’s not near water so we won’t have to deal with the condensation.

Bedtime went really really well. I’m so proud of my kids.