Elevation Gained: 0
Time to Destination: 2.5 hours
After two days of strenuous hiking (both mentally and physically) we were all excited for an easy walk back down to civilization and the car. The path took us from above the tree line and then back into the forest. But while easy, it wasn’t without adventures.
At the beginning of the hike down we could hear a few bells. I thought they were cow bells and tried to play it off like it was no big deal. But then it became a cacophony of bells and echoes and looking up we could see a herd of mountain goats running over a peak in the distance and down across our side of the mountain. Again, I aimed to be nonchalant and ease the kids’ concerns by telling them there was no way the goats were going to come to us… it was too far to cover. And then all of a sudden we were surrounded by goats. One minute they appeared miles away and the next they were grazing on grass within arms reach.
After a few minutes of excitement, and after persuading the kids that they in fact shouldn’t try to pet the goats, we continued our journey back down the mountain and into the valley and forest below.
Overall it was an amazing trip and definitely a core memory for me and hopefully the kids. But I will say that four days and three nights was the limit for the kids. The final stretch was a gentle wide slope of green grass before the parking lot and the kids ran down it like they had escaped from captivity. The joy they let out while running was not dissimilar to the kids from the Sound of Music running after reaching the safety of Switzerland. It could have also been because it was the first place where they could run without risk of falling off of a cliff, but who knows!
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