Pre-Hike

We had camp the very first week of June, which meant a lot of preparation during the month of May. We went to Heber this year and they had an open house mid May. We had been to Heber before but this time we headed up to figure out where games might be held, measure areas for decorations, but most importantly, do some hiking.

Sister Hale put me in charge of leading the 3rd year hike. That sounds fine to me, but I did NOT want to get lost. So I figured I would just hike it ahead of time so I knew what I was doing. Rebecca came with me since she was planning on being the sweeper for the hike. The sweeper is the person that stays in the back and keeps stragglers moving in the right direction.

Jolene had put together very good maps, so I wasn't too worried about finding my way around. And at the main lodge, they had a model of the mountain with the trails mapped out. It was very cool. I took a picture so I would have it for reference. You can see here where our campsite was and the loop we planned on taking. Because we could, we drove up to a higher campsite to start.

Our campsite was right by the lake. The lake that morning was very misty. In fact, the weather in general was quite cold and yucky. It was drizzling most of the time.

Carrie and Jolene were going on their own hike, but Carrie was so kind to let me use her poncho. Although I brought a hoody, that was just going to soak up all the water as I hiked. I really should be better prepared, but Carrie baled me out. Here are Rebecca and I ready to hike.

The hike was actually quite nice. The lake is the lowest point in the valley so everything is uphill for a while, but we expected that. From up above you could see the lake below and next door another lake that is not owned by the camp I believe.

There was a little outlook area at the top. We found these cute stones that girls had left before. They looked like little prayer rocks. And to the left, you might notice a nice pile of deer poop. There was poop all over the trails. Piles and mounds of it. You definitely had to watch your step. (Later, when we went back to camp, the trails had been cleared very well. I don't know who scooped all that poop, but bless you.)

We were also looking for a nice place to have a mini devotional when we came up later. Some areas in the trees had fallen logs that would be good for sitting on. And I was hoping there would be more leaves in a few weeks to provide more shade.

As it was, we got snowed on. The rain and mists finally turned to snow. It wasn't awful to hike in since we were plenty warm from the exertion, but it made the trails muddy and slippery. Some of the down hill was a little tricky. Finally we got back to our car. We navigated the trails just fine and we were all ready for the actual event in a few weeks time. We even had a little cheerleader at the end who greeted us with enthusiasm. I think he was proud of us. He was the only critter we saw. I think the rest were waiting for a warmer day.