Amy’s First Backpacking: Toes in for a “Dabble”, mountains, wildflowers, and lakes galore

We headed out late afternoon after a full morning of moving to the new apartment. This was Amy and Sarah’s first experience backpacking. We started with the gentle 1.1 mile hike to Pansy Lake.

We loaded up Amy with a few items in her backpack as well. She wore this a little ways and went bounding down the trail.

We got to the beautiful lake and unloaded our heavy burdens.

Amy told me I could focus on cooking while she "dipped her toes in for a dabble" with Sarah.






The "dabble" turned into a dive and the clothing came off.

Both Sarah and Amy got soaked and had a great time in the water!

We enjoyed a delicious meal of lamb and cheddar polenta and Ginger Chai Pudding for dessert (thanks to Sarah at Freezerbag Cooking for the delicious recipes)

Amy went right to sleep and Sarah and I enjoyed watching the stars by the lake and talking.

The next day we took on Bull of the Woods- a 7 mile loop hike to a fire lookout. Since Sarah’s clothes were still wet from the “dabble” we made jokes about naked hiking day.





This time Amy was in the backpack almost immediately. I knew I was in for a challenge.





The first mountain that peaked out at us was Jefferson





A butterfly decided to come and join us for awhile.

The wildflowers were great.- Columbine and Indian Paintbrush to name a few. Amy was disappointed about the green huckleberries.

Our hard work was greatly rewarded! Visible mountains were Sisters, Jefferson, Hood, Adams, St. Helens, and Rainier. Awesome!

Amy enjoyed climbing the old fire lookout.

We headed back down the other side, enjoying being on the ridge for a little while. I encouraged Amy to hike but she was back in the backpack before long due to the narrow trail. We found a snow patch and stopped for a break.

We arrived back at the lake and Amy helped Sarah filter water while I packed up the tent and food. The 1.1 mile hike back out was rather grueling- having to offer encouragement, bribes, and incentive every few steps to a little girl who really did not want to walk. We went on a mushroom hunt, played the alphabet game, thought about listening to CD’s in the car, thought about the treat we were going to stop for, and took turns trying to encourage and cajole.


Finally we arrived at the trailhead. Unfortunately our car would not start but some hikers came along and helped with a jumpstart. We made it home safe and sound after stopping for a fast food treat.