Time: 11:00 - 2:30
Elevation: 2391 - 2759 Meters
Distance: 10(ish) miles
Steps: 22027 Steps
Fee: 7.00 dollars/car
Okay, so I think I told the kids it'd be a short 5 mile hike. It turned out to be nearly twice that. I think I also promised a lake and waterfall, but those will have to wait.
The kids proved to be tough enough for it anyway. They were, in fact, awesome.
A recurring theme of my recent trips has been a failure to bring enough water and enough fuel. When it's just me that's one thing, but I felt bad as the kids looked pretty parched towards the end.
I must remember that hiking companions may not be battling the weight gain issues that hit us as we age.
We started out from the lower of the two parking lots following the Mason Creek Trail, we then joined the Border Line trail at the Old Mill, which took us to the the Staunton Overlook. Everyone looked pretty tired at this point so we followed the Old Mill trail down to the Staunton Ranch trail to get back to the car.
The elevation gain was pretty gentle throughout and with some better planning we would have probably held off exhaustion a little better.
The trail was wide and smooth throughout. Rocky Mountain Columbines were a in bloom sporadically throughout the trip as were other wild flowers (that I haven't learned the name of).
The trip ended with the happy discovery of a water source at picnic pavilion near the upper parking lot.
