There is a hike Big E has wanted to take for years, but the trail doesn't open until mid July, and normally we've already used up our beach time by then.
But this year, with our later dates, Big E was going to have his adventure, darn it!
We drove up a winding dirt road, Big E, Little e, and myself. We avoided the first (false) trailhead, and continued down the road to the second (correct) trailhead. Big E thought this route would be about a mile and half long, but when the sign said 2.7 miles each way, he shrugged and headed off down the trail.
Down we went. The first mile of the trail is a steep, switchback filled traverse into a valley. Which means, yes, the last mile of the hike was a steep, long trek upward.
I have certain criteria for a long hike, and this one hit all of them.
It was shady, green, cool, and there was water.
We carried drinking water, sandwiches, and Swedish Fish to assist in the ascent home.
It was the perfect long hike.
The trail ended in an open, grassy headland.
We could hear sealions barking on rocky islands in the little bay, and there were butterflies and wildflowers.
The headland itself is steep, and the trail is a tad overgrown with wild cucumber and thistles.
See the trail trail connecting Little e and I?
Neither do I.
Little e was wonderful on this hike.
She skipped and danced her way up and down the trail.
Prompting one (very grumpy) elderly trail goer to tell me, "She's foolin' up there. She's going to trip on a rock and break her teeth!"
I responded by blurting out, "Well that's one way of looking at it."
Ironically, at that point in the trail, our little wiggle-bot was the most focused she'd been in weeks.
On the long climb to the car, after 5+ miles of hiking, Little e did ask to hold my hand, but that's all she did. She held my hand, but walked along under her own power.
It was such a privilege to have our littlest girl with us.
And I have to say, my twice weekly Taekwon Do class has had a positive effect on my physical fitness. The hike did not wipe me out!
I was not a weepy, quivering mass at the end of that uphill climb!
Woo hoo!