Battlecreek Falls

Last week we had some plans fall through, and I felt bad because I had already promised my kids that we could do something fun.  So instead, I decided to take them hiking up to Battlecreek Falls.  That sounded fun!

Well, here's what really happened...

We drove up to the trail and started hiking.  I brought a water bottle for each of the boys, and my big camera.  The trail was big and wide and not very steep.  Perfect.

A few steps into it, Bridger is already tired.

 A little ways further and we come to a little cascade with a pond at the bottom.

There were a group of teenager that were just leaving and they gave my boys some squirt guns!  The boys were thrilled.  We thought about staying and playing in the pond, but there was a guy fly fishing and he was pretty much taking up the whole space.  I had seen a picture of the falls and it looked bigger than this, so I decided to keep going.

We hiked for a while up the mountain.  It was a pretty hike because it went in and out of the trees, over a little bridge, and right along the stream.  Eventually, we came to a waterfall.  There was a little path leading down to it.  It didn't look as big as it did online, and there were rocks and a little stream at the bottom, but no pool.  Up above, there were rubber mats to help hikers make it up and over the waterfall.  Since the mats were there, I figured that we were supposed to climb higher.  Maybe the big waterfall was just up above?

So we kept climbing.  And climbing.  And climbing.  Pretty soon, we were on a narrow dirt trail that dropped off on one side.  I kept thinking "its going to be just over this hill..."  We were seriously almost to the top of the mountain.  The boys were tired.  I was tired.  Dalton was poopy.  Bridger wanted to quit.

A few minutes later, we saw a hiker coming down.  I asked him what was farther up the trail.

"Nothing."

Nothing?  What are we hiking for then?  I was 90 something degrees out and we were all exhausted but we kept going because we wanted to see this HUGE waterfall.  The guy told us that the waterfall was the little one that we passed about a mile below.  He said it's bigger certain times of the year.

Seriously?  I just dragged my kids to the top of a mountain for nothing?

So we started back down the mountain.

We eventually made it to the waterfall and stopped to play for a while.

I stripped the boys down to their undies so they could get wet.

I got Dalton naked because I needed to get his poopy diaper off.

No one was there anyway.

Just as I think that, someone walks up, looks at me and my naked kids, and heads back onto the main trail and leaves.

Oh well.

After a few minutes of playing, Bridger falls and starts crying.

We decide to pack it up.

I am now carrying a poopy diaper, an half-naked baby, the big camera bag (oh yeah, my camera battery died too), 3 water bottles, 3 squirt guns, 3 sets of shoes, and holding Bridger's hand.

When we finally start heading back down, Bridger falls.

Not just a little trip, but falls flat out and scrapes his whole body.

Now he is sobbing.

Dalton is sobbing because he is beyond exhausted.

Saxon is asking me "why did you bring us here?"

Good question.

What am I doing?

Once we make it back to the first pond, the boys want to get in and rinse off their scrapes.  We got Bridger rinsed off so he felt better, but then no one wanted to put their clothes back on.

So you can add 3 sets of clothes to the things that I am carrying.

I felt like a pack mule.

I was wishing I had a pack mule at the moment.

Finally, we make it back down.

I had 4 missed calls on my phone from Nate who was worried.

I left my house at 2:45 and didn't get back til 6:30 p.m.

We did get some good pictures though: