Saturday morning we ate and packed lunches for our hikes. It was a grand affair and the guys spent much of their time trying to decide where to go on their hike. Have to say that we never went hungry on this trip. Here's a picture of Brian, Melissa, and Tom preparing their lunches.
The guys decided to conquer Mt. Washington and with Melissa at almost 8 months pregnant and I not having hiked in awhile, we had already decided to head towards Lower Lena Lake. Below is Melissa and I about halfway to the lake.
We ate lunch under the trees on the far side of the lake. Melissa thinks that we were next to the campsite where she and Brian stayed at on a previous trip. Here's the view:
Here's another view of the lake on the way back:
Melissa and I had hiked about 8 miles roundtrip and were happy to get back to camp. The guys had beat us back by a few minutes and we also saw that Juanita and her family had come up. To see more about the guys climb/hike, check out Tom's and Brian's websites (Links are to the right).
Since the burn ban had been lifted, we relaxed around the fire before we enjoyed a dinner of Hobo pies. Here's Dave, Alan, Jakob, and Brian sitting around the fire. The second picture is of the makings used for the Hobo pies.
Dessert was S'mores and doughboys. Dave and Juanita's son Jakob made his first S'more and then Dave taught Brian, Melissa, and I how to make doughboys (we added jam and frosting to ours). They were so good.
Brian, Melissa, and I walked down to the lake, so that Brian could show us where they had climbed today. The first picture is of Mt. Ellinor (on the left) and Mt. Washington (on the right). You have to climb Mt. Ellinor first and then climb over to Mt. Washington. The second picture is a close up of Mt. Ellinor and several of the peaks that they bagged.
Breakfast on Sunday morning was pancakes that were made and served by Dave. He did a great job. Here's Dave at the grill.
Brian and Melissa brought their dog, Matty with us. She went with the guys on their hike and then slept most of the evening and through the night. She was entertaining us after breakfast on Sunday morning. She is in the midst of one of her tricks in the picture below. Brian had placed a piece of pancake on her paw and she is supposed to wait for his command to eat it. She did pretty good at waiting, but once she tasted one, she wasn't so sure she could wait any more.
Brian, Melissa, and I headed back home to get showers in before church (Tom and Alan went back home Saturday evening). Dave and Juanita planned to drive in just before church. All of us did make it to church on time. I was sore since my twice-a-day walks at work aren't this hard. Monday was my most painful day and I still had to work. I was back to full strength by Thursday and I'm ready for another hike.
