Just the beginning of the trail.
Quick stop for a photo of the kids.
We heard a sound like thunder that turned out to be this base jumper's chute opening.
Keep climbing...
More and more climbing...
About here it starts to get really steep.
The kids liked taking a break here.
Almost at the top, but the toughest part is still ahead.
So the last little bit is climbing up by the edge of a cliff with only this railing in this photo to keep you from tumbling to your death. We didn't get any good photos really showing how high up you are & on the edge but my "mommy alarms" were going crazy in my head seeing the kids so close to the edge.
Hanging Lake
The kids enjoyed feeding some greedy ground squirrels. They will take the food from your hand if you're still enough. This one bit Joshua's finger, but can you blame him - look at the tiny piece of food Josh is holding out.
All 4 of the kids went to the middle of the lake with dad.
Absolutely the best part about the hike is Spouting Rock. If you're going to hike as far as Hanging Lake you have to go a little bit further to see this awesome spot. Two beautiful waterfalls thundering down that you can walk behind & around. The spray is freezing & is very refreshing after a long hike.
There are also trails up here that lead to overlook the lake.
We got home 4 1/2 hours later. Even though we started out early there were lots of people on the trail, especially on the way back down.
