Evergreen Mountain Lookout

Most hikes that we have been on have been somewhat crowded with touristy (is that a word?) types and I told Sean that it would be great to find one that was more off the beaten path. We both were ready for a hike that you didn't constantly meet people on or have them creeping up on you.

Sean definitely pulled through for us and I was actually a little scared during the last 10 miles of the drive there. Our path turned into a one lane road and the distance between the turnouts were further apart than we wanted to see. It didn't help that while Sean was trying to concentrate on driving and I was trying to avoid looking out the window to my right, the kids kept saying "We're going to die!" in their funny voices. It definitely wasn't funny to us.

A few pics on our way up to the trailhead.

Relief waved over all of us once we hit the trailhead. And there were only a few other cars so that meant an uncrowded hike. Yay! Success!

Not sure what the boys are searching for at the edge of the parking lot. 

The highlight of the day for the smaller kids: playing with sticks/rocks
from a leftover campfire of some sort. Imagine that :)

After making sure our backpacks were filled with the usual of snacks, plenty of water and jackets (the higher we climb, the cooler it gets), it was time to take off.

Evergreen Mountain Lookout: 3 miles roundtrip, elevation gain of 1425 feet

Sean registering us at the trailhead so the park rangers
know to look for us if we don't make it back :(

And we're off!

Although it was a steep climb, it scored many points for how beautiful it was! God really knew what He was doing when He created this earth.

As we headed up, I turned back to take a pic of part of our trail and the mountains all around us. Completely amazing!

Cue the "Sound of Music" songs :)

And we made it!

After filling our tummies with a mini snack and some extra water, it was time to make our way back down the mountain.

Bye bye lookout area.

The kids led the way as we moved down the mountain and they were very talkative. Topic of conversation: Harry Potter. 

I had the kids do a little celebration jump once we made it back to the parking lot by the trailhead!

Hooray! We made it!