25 miles into the Backcountry

Joshua's backpacking list mostly has multiple day 20 miles or more hikes left on it. Since we had a 4 day weekend we decided to take one on. We drove out Friday morning and started our hike around 11am and headed 4 miles in to Pete Lake. Made lunch and let Roslyn out of the pack for a bit there and then started back at it. Most of the hike was pretty level, we had a deep river crossing, then rounded to a waterfall and then into the switchbacks up to Spectacle Lake, about 7 miles.

first break at Pete Lake

first look at Spectacle Lake

Roslyn is a busy body and we were so worried about her being in the pack for 11 miles. We were also worried about me being able to carry her and all her stuff that far and Joshua carrying the giant 100 liter pack with all his and I's stuff. To be fair by the end our backs and ribs ached and she got a little fussy at the end but we all made it in one piece and in pretty good spirits. 

lost this sweatshirt on the trail and someone found it and brought it back to us! 

"well we knew whose it was because I'm pretty sure she's the only baby anywhere near here" 

(we're pretty proud of that)

Once we made it to the lake Joshua and James scouted out a campsite and Roslyn got to get down and do some hiking of her own. She love climbing rocks and attempting to get over roots on her own. We secured a spot by the lake, Roslyn "helped" set up and we made dinner and starred at the water. Then her and I headed into the tent to put her to bed and the guys hung outside and played with a fishing pole (pretty certain the lake has no fish).

The next morning after breakfast we started getting very irritated by the mosquitos. Instead of sitting around whining about it we strapped Roslyn in her ergo and went hiking up to the pass. It was about a 2 mile day hike and it looked back down on Spectacle Lake and showed off a few more layers of mountains as we ascended, including Mt. Stuart. It was a beautiful morning, all were in good moods, Roslyn fell asleep about 5 steps in, and the bugs stayed away as long as we were moving.

passed out

she has a vw van on her shirt :)

Then we hiked back down and jumped into the absolutely freezing lake. Which felt glorious once we were back out of the lake and drying in the sunshine. Don't worry Roslyn did not partake in the swimming. We hung out for the rest of the day played some cards, got Roslyn to nap again, made dinner, and played "fishing" again.

The next morning we packed up to hike out, took another break at Pete Lake and found our way out around 3pm. I cannot properly express how proud I am of Roslyn. She took all the hiking and being carried like a champ. We let her out to hike for portions, play in snow, dip her fingers in the water, pick flowers, etc but still it was a lot of being carried and she crushed it. I am also so so proud of us. We were scared to do this, to take this on, but we did it! And we had fun doing it! (minus the 300+ bug bites riddling my body, no joke) Also our friend James put up with someone else's one year old with a smile on his face the whole time!
 

We all piled into Walter and drove down a forest road to sleep for the evening next to a river. I made sausages, mac and cheese, and beans for dinner with cookies for dessert, well deserved! The hammock was slung up and an epic game of pejabejaboo (peek-a-boo) was played by all. I finally got to sleep without a baby touching me all night and it was glorious.

Next morning I made waffles, sausages, and eggs for breakfast with multiple cups of coffee. Roslyn played put all the rocks in her pail, stir, and repeat for awhile and we headed back into Seattle. Before dropping at home we stopped at Dick's burgers for a final celebration where Roslyn discovered milkshakes and totally stole mine.

Seattle Sunshine

This past weekend was sunny, hot, and beautiful. Roslyn has taken up a liking to biking, she asks for her helmet and reaches up to be put in her seat, so we biked to Greenlake with our swimsuits on. We weren't sure if she'd be into getting all wet but we hoped all the dunking her in cold lakes we did last summer would pay off. It did, she loved it. I'd swoosh her around in the water and dunk most of her body in and she kept signing more, more. 

After we finally convinced her to leave the water Joshua got an iced coffee and I got a fruit popsicle to share with Roslyn. Thinking oh she'll have a few tastes and I'll get most of it. Nope! Wrapper came off she jammed it into her mouth and never took it back out. She let it ooze down her face, her hands, I tried to lick it (while it was still in her mouth) and she started yelling at me and pushing me away. It was pretty cute.

We spent most of the weekend outside at the park or laying around in our backyard while Roslyn bounced or tackled us. But I also figured she was old enough to appreciate the secret passage through our wall so I cleared it out and showed it to her. She was so giddy. We'd holler from the other side and she'd start laughing and crawling through, Joshua and her just lounged around inside of it for awhile, and she'd hide in it from us when we chased her. So glad I cleared it out! Our own Harry potter baby spot!

Lake hike & Hitchiker tips

We needed a campsite one night and started down a dirt road. A few miles in 2 guys flagged us down and asked for a ride back to his car, they had been kayaking. We obliged and in return as we dropped him off he pointed out a little hidden campsite near the water they had spotted. Very grateful, we snagged it right up. With lots of daylight left we hung the hammock and read our book, made a slow lazy dinner, and stared at the running water with Roslyn.

Our first hike back afield after Erika's wedding was in the Wasatch National Forest in Utah. It is a nice loop hike that chains together a bunch of alpine lakes. We wove through the forest popping out on the little blue gems every so often.

On our way out we heard a lot of commotion and started noticing all these sheep camouflaged among the trees. Then we turned a corner and they were everywhere!

We ended up back near where we'd camped a few nights ago, when we helped the hitchhiker, and snagged another great spot along the water. Our laundry situation had become dire and our plans and location for the next few days wasn't lending itself to swinging by a laundromat. So we pulled out our basin, grabbed some river water, dumped in soap and got to hand washing. It was actually pretty fun. 

Roslyn also enjoyed it as she has just learned to roll from her back to her belly. We laid out her mat and let her go at it. Every time she'd succeed she'd be so proud and get the biggest grin on her face. It was very cute but also scary because she could no longer be placed anywhere without first thinking what happens if she rolls.