Aldous Lake

Last weekend we took the kids camping/hiking/backpacking. The place was Aldous lake (I think it's about 30 north of Dubois, ID and close to the Montana border). There was a 1.3 mile trail (only accessible by foot) leading to the lake and our campsite. We loaded our packs with all of our camping gear (Curtis's was 75 lbs, mine was about 35 lbs, but I also carried an awkward 30+ lbs of cooler) and hiked the 1.3 miles with the kids. Xander hiked all of it by himself carrying his backpack black bear with shoes that were too small for him (sorry buddy). Tayla wanted to walk, but Curtis ended up carrying her on his shoulders for most of the distance.

When we reached the campsite at the lower lake, we set up camp and cooked dinner over the fire. The mosquitoes were terrible! By the end of the 24 hour trip, we were covered with bites (except for Tayla -- apparently mosquitoes don't like baby blood.) They loved our faces and hairlines, our elbows, and Xander's legs. The kids went right to bed without a peep -- they must have been really tired from the hike.

The next day, we decided to hike another 1 mile uphill, to the upper lake. We carried the kids on our shoulders for the entire distance. The lake was worth the hike. It was pretty how it was nestled next to the mountain peaks. The kids had fun throwing rocks into the lake and listening to the echo of their voices off the lake and the mountains. As we hiked back to camp, Tayla fell asleep on Curtis's shoulders completely folded in half. We aren't sure how she could sleep like that! She was so tired! We got back to camp and put her in her tent and she slept another hour.

We decided to only stay one night because we had to get back home in time to speak in church on Sunday. So we packed up and hiked the 1.3 miles out to the car. Xander's feet hurt by this time, so I ended up carrying him on my shoulders with my pack. Curtis carried Tayla and his pack (a total of 100 lbs for 1.3 miles). I think I have a super duper husband!


This is us at the trail head. Notice that Xander has a stick in his hand. He traded them for better and better sticks along the way. He is a dawdler on the trail unless Tayla is chasing him.
What a cutie with his black bear made into a backpack! He carried that bear the whole day! Such a big boy, hiking all by himself. We saw his confidence grow as he stepped over big rocks, logs, and bridges. I think this was a great character building trip for Xander. Not only did he become more confident with his agility, but he battled the mosquitoes, pee'd on sticks, and helped with the tents and campfire.

Tayla wanted to hike. We let her walk some of the way when we could stand going at Tayla's slow pace. She kept tripping and falling. By bedtime the first night, her legs we all scraped up so I decided to put her in Xander's jeans the next day to protect her legs. (She doesn't have any pants except for leggings which are not appropriate for camping.) I am definitely getting her a pair of jeans for this fall, if not sooner.

This is probably our favorite picture from the trip. Isn't she so cute! This is Tayla sleeping in her sleeping bag for the first time ever. I expected her to wiggle out of it, but she was cozy and went right to bed. In the morning we found her sleeping bag on the opposite corner of the tent as her air matress and we found Tayla in the bottom of her sleeping bag.
Here's all of us hanging out in mom and dad's tent at about 6:30am. Too early to get out of bed!

Yummy muffins for breakfast.


They could have done this all day! This is the upper lake that we had to hike an additional 1 mile past our campsite.

And this is how Tayla fell asleep folded in half!