Bear Creek Hike

On Sunday afternoon, we loaded up and drove about 10 miles north to the Bear Creek trailhead for a hike. We've never done anything like this with the kids before, but we heard that it's a nice, easy hike that ends with a waterfall. I bought a used baby backpack last week, and we borrowed another from a friend. George carried Livy and I packed Nate. Charlie Murph came too.

We'd stop along the way and pick whatever ripe berries were there: raspberries, a few huckleberries, currants. I saw elk poop! It looks just like deer poop, but bigger (in case you were wondering). George is a fount of knowledge when it comes to identifying plants, berries, sounds of animals along the trail. He really keeps things interesting. Olivia just had a blast eating berries and riding along. Nate started to get a little antsy toward the end of the hour plus hike in, pulling my hair and playing with my hat. When we reached the falls, we settled down to eat some dinner and take in the beautiful scenery.

Livy was running all over the place, climbing big rocks and splashing in the water. I helped Nate dip his toes in the icy cold water. He liked it! Charlie also kept busy exploring. It was a beautiful place and we spent about an hour there relaxing and enjoying ourselves.

On the hike back down, George stopped at a natural spring gurgling out of the mountainside and refilled our water bottles with delicious, fresh water. Again, we looked for more berries for Olivia to enjoy. We got absolutely filthy on the hike, but it was a great way to spend a summer afternoon. We're looking forward to hiking again soon!