Well today we did it.

The kids did awesome!

We woke at a fairly typical time today but somehow broke camp a little earlier than we had been with bear cans. It was 6:40am or so when we left.

Secret had a bit of a morning today. I don’t know why but he wasn’t in his best mood. It definitely improved as we got moving but I think he was hungry and refused to eat as much as I believe he needed. He listens to his body but I feel like he needed to eat more all day.

The approach to Forrester Pass was pretty awesome other than Secret being hungry. It improved when he ate some food. Then it was so cool.

We got to the approach shockingly early. Party City and I traded kids – I took Lil Flier to carry up the pass and Party City would support Secret. We all ate. Lil Flier got a double diaper (two diaper flats) so she can go longer without a diaper change.

Then we made it up the pass by around lunch.

The weather was cool but that helped. We felt good. The snow going up was crisp and easy to walk on. Mostly no snow on the climb. Some at the base at the approach. Secret just crushed it. He took two breaks. He made it seem so easy. Lil Flier slept the whole way up.

The pass itself was clear or snow.

The descent had snow. It was still crunchy due to the cold temperatures today. But it was slow with Secret. He did fine in the snow but the boulders I think felt uncomfortable with his microspikes. They were a bit big and kept slipping.

Party City supported him. He was upset and showing his frustration. He shows how everyone feels. It was a hard day. Party City kept feeding him as he hiked. He slowly made it through. Once we got to the ridge he took his spikes off and just calmed right down. Then he took off down the ridge and down the hill.

All afternoon we were worried about weather. There were clouds today and a chance of rain or storms on the pass or nearby if they gather. Thankfully they passed by us and collected further away. But that motivated Party City and I to go down as fast as we could.

We stopped for a break down at the base by the other family. Kids got a break. We got to eat. We felt less anxious about weather.

We hiked as far as we could before finding a camp at an unmarked spot. Durable surface that barely fit our shelter.

We are bagged. It was a long day. The kids however were in good moods and played in the tent in the evening with only minor conflicts and disagreements.

So proud of them for many reasons.

Hoping no rain but thankfully we have a pretty sheltered spot.

We were hoping to go over Kearsarge Pass and get to Independence tomorrow but it’s like 14 miles from here. That’ll be a hard day. We shall see. We have a bit of extra food and can make it stretch to dinner and a half a day if needed. I’m just looking forward to town.