Sean and I were having coffee on a Saturday morning and trying to figure out what trail we should go on with the kids that day. He brought this one up and mentioned that the round trip distance for the Bridal Veil Falls was 4.4 miles and for Lake Serene it was 7.2 miles round trip. I told him there was no way we could do Lake Serene with the kids as the furthest they'd been was just over 4 miles and I didn't want to push them so much that they didn't want to do these hikes anymore.
So we headed to the trail head that Saturday afternoon and started our hike around 2:30pm. Kids were in a bit of a mode when we started which didn't help, but we soldiered on.
And on and on and on. . . .
We stopped and were able to see water coming down from the falls on this rock area.
Shortly before getting to this spot, around 1.7 miles in, there was a sign that said "Bridal Veil Falls - 1/2 mile" and it pointed to the right. I mentioned it to Sean thinking it was our turn for the short route that would show us a great view of the falls, but he told me to keep going and that it was nothing. So that's what we did. We kept going. On our way to Lake Serene. I wasn't confident the kids could do it especially with their attitudes about hiking that day.
But we kept going. And I was somewhat nervous as we started having to deal with switchbacks and the steepness of it all in such a short time. According to the trail book we have, you gain about 1300 feet in the last 1.5 miles that it takes to get you up to Lake Serene. And let me tell you, we were all feeling it!
Everyone we would meet that was coming down just kept saying that we were almost there and telling the kids good job. Madison was tired of hearing it since we still weren't there. Summer seemed to pick up pace though. She was a little go getter once we hit half way up and you could tell she was starting to love it.
I do have to say, everyone was right that it was worth it once you get there. It was so beautiful!
Wasn't too happy with some of my pictures for the day, but I think no matter how good I would've gotten one, it just wouldn't do it any justice. You have to see it and you will definitely be mesmerized by the beauty!
Our curiosity took over and we headed up a short path to something they called Lunch Rock after having our snack. I about had a heart attack up there as it was steep to walk down and then it just dropped off. We took a few pictures and then I was ready to get the heck out of there.
But we kept going. And I was somewhat nervous as we started having to deal with switchbacks and the steepness of it all in such a short time. According to the trail book we have, you gain about 1300 feet in the last 1.5 miles that it takes to get you up to Lake Serene. And let me tell you, we were all feeling it!
 |
| Kids going up a section of stairs on the way to Lake Serene. |
Everyone we would meet that was coming down just kept saying that we were almost there and telling the kids good job. Madison was tired of hearing it since we still weren't there. Summer seemed to pick up pace though. She was a little go getter once we hit half way up and you could tell she was starting to love it.
 |
| Loved this photo from my phone! Almost to Lake Serene at this point. |
I do have to say, everyone was right that it was worth it once you get there. It was so beautiful!
Wasn't too happy with some of my pictures for the day, but I think no matter how good I would've gotten one, it just wouldn't do it any justice. You have to see it and you will definitely be mesmerized by the beauty!
 |
| Snack time to fill up on all the lost calories from our hike up! Doesn't Madison look happy? :) |
 |
| I think Noah is realizing that this is steeper than he thinks. |
 |
| Love getting the kids in shots like this! |
Even though we had the enduring climb to get here, the kids really soaked up this place. Noah even mentioned how it'd be cool if we had a tent so we could camp somewhere after hiking that much.
It was now time to head back down the trail and it had unfortunately started sprinkling. Not a good thing in the first place, but add the factors of having kids with you and the first 1.5 miles of the trail will be steep, rocky and full of switchbacks, it's not the best combination :(
It was very slow going, but we were getting down one step at a time - literally. We should've made a lot better time going down, but it ended up only being 10 minutes shorter than going up. The rain slowed us down as it caused it to be slicker in spots. I stuck with Mason and Sean stuck with Summer. I got the following two shots with my phone as we hit the switchbacks on the way down.
 |
| Summer & Sean |
 |
| Madison in green poncho & Noah in red poncho |
After seeing this, all I could think of was how crazy Sean and I were to have those kids up there! I just kept telling Mason that we completely owed them and I'd buy him whatever he wanted after we got down. That one could have backfired on me, but all he wanted was candy and pop :)
The rain was off and on as we made our way down and the sun was making it's way down, but we made it! And it felt so good to see the parking lot when we arrived. You can barely tell this little guy was tuckered out from our hike. He was quite the trooper!
Overall, we had a great time. It took A LOT of work on our way up, but the kids had a much better attitude on the way down. I paid for it for the next two days in the form of crazy sore leg muscles, yet the kids weren't sore at all. No fair! I attribute it to the fact that Sean and I ran hills the day before and then did this hike the next day.
Either way, it's just another trail we were able to check off our list. I have more pictures from the day loaded here if you want to peek at a few more: Lake Serene. And if anyone ever wants visit and go on a hike, we'd be happy to be your guides!
No comments:
Post a Comment