On Sunday we were again promised a visit, but this time it was for a picnic/hike. After taking Clara to the river (about two miles round trip) I suggested that would be a good destination, but Amy asked for something her parents hadn't already done.

I found a little one mile flat loop along the Middle Fork where we could picnic near a lake and a slow bend in the river, but that was too tame and didn't promise good views.

I suppose we could try for Lipsy Lake and Otter Falls, but it's kind of far. Eight miles round trip even if it's only 650 feet of gain. Gorgeous waterfall at the end, but is it even in the ballpark? Well, sure, why not?

So we all piled into the truck, including Tokul at my feet in the passenger's seat and out the Middle Fork road we went. The county road is in really good shape, but, as always, huge potholes that threatened to break axles and toss cookies appeared as soon as we entered the domain of the Forest Service.

We passed the new campground near the Gateway bridge, which looks really nice, and saw very few people camping in spite of the glorious weather. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, though the parking at the end of the road by the Taylor River bridge was packed. We geared up and started ambling up the road/trail. Lilly was in the pack and babbling happily. Clara was running back and forth.

Right away Nana and Papa marveled at the moss covered everything and talked about how nice it was to be out here. If they weren't out hiking they'd be at home working in the yard. (I knew just how they felt.)

We made steady, but slow progress up the trail. Clara doesn't hike terribly fast, but she made it at least a mile and a half before she started getting fussy. A quick snack and we were going again, this time with Clara riding on various shoulders.

Nana made a comment about trillium and suddenly they were all around. We had been missing them hidden in the forest around us until Nana spoke and then they were every five feet right on the trail. Clara would shout and point so it was a good thing we were way behind anyone else on the trail. (We didn't start until about 11am.)

At about mile three Lilly started losing it. It was now about 1pm and both girls (and probably the rest of us) were getting hungry. We shared a bar (one of a bundle Amy got for Valentine's Day (aren't I a sweetie?)) and swapped Clara for Lilly. As I struggled under the added weight in my pack Amy and Carl, taking turns with Lilly on their shoulders, commented about how much lighter she was. Hmph.

We crossed a couple of streams and detoured around the top of a slide. We tried to give Lilly a bottle, but she was having none of it. As we approached the side trail to Lipsy Lake Lilly went back in the pack and Clara started walking... just in time for the snow. There wasn't much, just enough to be muddy and wet. Clara splashed through some puddles and Carl threatened me with a snowball.

The final climb along the primitive trail up to the lake earned me dirty looks from everyone involved, but it was better than the bushwhack Dan and I had done on the other side of the stream when we visited the lake and falls in 2004. (Interestingly, on that trip Clara was a year and 15 days old. This time Lilly was a year and 13 days old. How's that for consistency?)

At the lake we all gawked at the 500+ foot slab of rock and the creek winding its way down the face. The sun baked us as we sat on the rocky shore. I kicked off my boots and took Clara and Lilly for a little walk in the water. I found a sandy spot they could splash around in and cool off. The water was a little chilly at first, but became ok after a short while. (I guess it doesn't take too long to go numb.)

Tokul did a little bit of swimming, but there was another party a little ways away and I didn't want her disturbing them so she remained mostly on leash. Too bad other dogs didn't do the same.

Somehow, Clara sound up running around in the water with only a shiny star bandaid on her arm from where she had received an immunization a few days before. Nobody else was close enough to see so we turned a blind eye to it. We spent about an hour lounging around before deciding it was time to go.

That was about when we noticed Nana's boot was totally hammered. The sole of the boot had separated at the heel and flapped from the ball of her foot. Playing MacGyver, Papa used a length of twine to (a) cut off all circulation to Nana's foot and (b) prevent the sole from flapping in the breeze. We hiked back down to the road/trail and headed out.

Shortly after passing the snow Nana's other boot blew out. This one was fixed in a similar fashion while Clara comforted Nana as the two sat on the edge of the trail.

On the way up we had spotted a big, flat rock in the middle of the trail. Clara had wanted to dance on the rock, but we deferred that activity until the trip back figuring it would be a good diversion. Now it was time to pay up. Clara had a great time and Amy and Nana played along, too. At least until they realized I was snapping pictures.

The rest of the hike out was mostly asking how much farther and dealing with fussing from both girls who were way beyond nap times. Even when Clara doesn't nap she at least has some quiet time. Lilly had snoozed for maybe 10 or 15 minutes in the pack, but not nearly enough.

In the last half a mile I resumed my normal hiking pace with a little extra hop in my stride to try to settle Lilly. By the time I was crossing the Taylor on the bridge near the parking area she was just about asleep. I considered continuing down the road, but just did laps at the car while the others caught up. I tried a bottle, but she wasn't having any of that for sure.

As we got close to home in the truck Nana announced they wouldn't be staying for dinner after all, but that she'd be going home to die. After we moved the carseats back to our truck and got them on the way Amy and I opted for dinners substantially less interesting than the bar-b-que steaks we had been contemplating for much of the hike. Clara got her favorite macaroni and cheese, though, so at least she was happy. Even Lilly scarfed hot dog with her peas and carrots. Tokul was curled up into a tiny little ball hardly moving at all.

Amy discovered that her mother was still talking to her the next day when it was revealed that her parents were "stiff, but ok." That's usually code for, "We took a ton of drugs, sat in the hot tub for a long time, and are creaking around the house, but haven't quite made it upstairs yet." I did see them at the Mariners game on Monday so they must have regained their mobility at some point in the night.

Carl has since declared Judy's troubles are all his. He provided the defective footwear and it was that, not the difficulty of the hike that hobbled Nana. For her part, Nana claims she'd be up for another hike, but maybe not for a little while. To both their credits, neither have actually used the term "Death March," which is usually a favorite descriptor after I've taken Carl out on the trail. Maybe there's hope for them after all.

Total distance was 8.5 miles. Elevation gain was about 675 feet.