To the Vista and Beyond!

I mentioned to some friends that I received new trekking poles for Christmas and was anxious to try them out.

They enthusiastically recommended that we hike to the Bull Run Vista for the perfect maiden voyage of my poles.

Since the Rugged Mountain Man had off on MLK day, we decided that Monday was when it would happen.

We rounded up all the water backpacks, pulled on our base layers, laced up our hiking boots, and loaded the hounds into the truck.  

It's ADVENTURE time.

The Quarry trail boasted some intriguing rock formations.  

Yes, there is a fair bit of elevation on this hike.

The scenery alone made it totally worth it.

On this adventure, we tried something a little bit different.  The Rugged Mountain Man prefers to hoof it steadily to the top with very few breaks.  This is just his hiking style. However, the Little Blossoms need more breaks and periodically try to pull out the drama act too.  Eventually, with all the breaks, we tend to fall further and further behind.  

I recently noticed how demoralized they became simply because Daddy was a bit ahead.  They didn't seem upset that we were hiking or that we were on a long, difficult, or technical hike.  They just seemed discouraged.  

This time, he hiked in back of this pack of female hyenas.  

The entire hike was full of banter, singing, and conversation, even though it was icy, treacherous, and steep!  

This was a hard hike, mainly because of the ice.  The whining potential with those conditions on a scale of 1-10 would be a 8.95, in my opinion, and yet there was very little whining!

It's amazing the difference it made in the morale!

We came down the Log Slide, named for obvious reasons.  

The Blossoms took to sledding down it on the their bellies, like penguins, or on their rear ends.  It was comical and they thoroughly enjoyed their sled-less sledding.

The view at the top was worth the hike.  

What a fabulous day!  Fresh air, exercise, and good family time!  I call that a win!

Oh, and I LOVE my trekking poles.  I don't pretend to have the best gear, but these Cascade Mountain Tech poles were a functional and affordable entry level set for me.

Dominique