A snowy hike

Yesterday we took a hike to a fire lookout that's in the area. We've been trying to do this hike for awhile (actually started it a couple weeks ago, but there was too much snow and we weren't wearing boots), and we finally managed to complete it.

We came prepared with boots this time, but it was still a bit more difficult than we expected because there was still a lot of snow on the trail. We finished the 3.5 mile hike, and we have some things to keep in mind for the next time we attempt it.

1. Do the hike in the summer. That was the original idea, but we ran out of time.
2. If we must do it in the fall when there's snow and ice on the trail, wear Yak Trax on our shoes. I have some, and Mr. M's dad has some that Mr. M could have borrowed, but we didn't even think about using them.
3. Use trekking poles. This one I did remember, but I couldn't find mine, so I couldn't use it.
4. Use my inhaler before we go: 9000+ feet elevation is not good for asthmatic lungs that are still a bit phlegmy.
5. Bring the Ergo carrier to make it easier to carry LMS. It was in the back of the car, but I forgot to put it on. We ended up taking turns carrying her on our shoulders, which wasn't the safest on slippery snow and ice.

I love taking pictures of LMS and Mr. M walking hand in hand.
Once we made it to the top of the mountain, we still had some very steep stairs to climb to get to the actual lookout platform. They weren't bad going up, but coming back down, I had to not look too far down- I'm slightly afraid of heights. It was super windy up there, so we had to keep a good hold on LMS. Mr. M carried her down the stairs, and she covered her head with her hood the whole way down. She really doesn't like the wind. Check out her reaction when we were at Pali Point in Hawaii.

It was fun, but it was a tough hike. However, we didn't get to take a nap on the way home like LMS did. She managed to do a good portion of the hike up to the lookout, and even though we did carry her part of the way up and most of the way down, we still wore her out!