Lofty Lake Loop

After our stop at the Provo River Falls, we continued on to our real destination: Lofty Lake Loop. Scotty has wanted to hike into Kamas Lake for a while. His ultimate goal is to camp there as a family, so we gave it a trial run by doing a day hike.

We've had some sketchy thunderstorms around here lately, and during monsoon season, it's easy to get stranded in the Uintas, so we came prepared with overnight supplies just in case. 

 

I won't bore you with all of the details of this hike, but know these facts:

• We accidentally took the "long way"
• It rained
• The hike was pretty challenging for the kids
• There are several small lakes along the loop

Also, imagine this for a moment:

You get out of your car at the trail head. Suddenly you hear a loud CRACK! echoing off the mountains. You wonder if someone has just been shot, and as you glance around, you realize that, no. No one has been shot. Instead, your ears have been graced by the sound of a boy scout cracking a whip. He is wearing a Chewbacca t-shirt. He proceeds to crack the whip over and over. You turn to your husband and say, "For the love of Pete! I hope he's not going to Kamas Lake!" Two hours later, as you make your final approach to the lake, you see George Lucas' biggest fan standing on the shore line with the whip in his hand. 

You hang your hammock. He cracks the whip.

You roast a hot dog. He cracks the whip.

You try to rock your toddler to sleep. He cracks the whip.

You know that there is no merit badge for that!

Finally, the scout leaders tell him to put the whip away. You say a prayer of thanksgiving.

But then...

The boy scouts begin a team building activity. They have to build a cairn out of rocks, and they are not allowed to speak to each other. You start to like the sound of this. But then they are told that they can still make noise. Thus begins a series of pterodactyl screeching throughout random places in the woods.

RAAAAAHHHHHH!

RAAAAAHHHHHH!

Fifteen minutes worth of conversation occurs in pterodactyl as they complete their challenge. 

When they finally pack up and leave, you breathe a sigh of relief, but that is when the storm clouds roll in, and you have to hurry and pack up and get the heck out of there so you don't get stranded.

Crazy boy scouts aside, it was a cool experience.

But it was challenging - we weren't sure if we'd get our kids in and out of there. The trail was covered in lose rocks - each kids fell at least a dozen times, and we'd accidentally left the first aid kit in the van. We were very lucky no one was seriously hurt.

Nicky insisted on wearing a mosquito net the entire time (there were no mosquitoes).

Daisy wanted to pick every wildflower in sight.

Zoe wanted to be independent and climb everything herself.

(Do you like her super hero shoes? I found them in the road by my house).

In the end, we made it out safely. We saw many beautiful things. We spoke many encouraging words to our kids.

But I don't think I'm going to try this hike with them again until they're a little (a lot?) older.