Generally, I prefer to have my great adventures with Lori. Over the last 34 years we have developed a certain ease that is very enjoyable. I would rather be around her than anyone but, in the words of the Godfather, occasionally someone will make us an offer we can’t refuse.
The perpetrator of the offer was our oldest grandson, nine-yearold Blake. He approached Lori and asked, “Can I go on a hike with you guys in the mountains.”
Yep, case closed. And, of course, how could we take Blake and not Kahlynn (11), Ellee (7) and Duke (5)? You’re right, we couldn’t.
Lori and I decided we needed to go on a hike which involved the mountains, but wasn’t so steep that the younger members of the hiking party would be begging grandpa or grandma to carry them up and down the mountain.
We also didn’t want them stuck in the car too long. They are in the car a lot in their lives and nothing puts a question mark on a trip more than to arrive at the destination and find that one or two of the grandkids has fallen into a self-induced coma (nap).
Finally, the hike had to be relatively safe because there are four of them and only two of us. We did change those odds somewhat in that we asked our son, Keegan, to go along and that changed the kid to adult ratio considerably.
We decided on North Cheyenne Canyon on the south side of Colorado Springs. The area is full of hikes and we found two hikes next to each other with a path that joined them. The first was the Buffalo Canyon Trail. That hike takes you to the base of the Cascade Falls. There is only an elevation gain of 118 feet between the trailhead and the falls, although we crossed the falls and connected with the second trail, the Helen Hunt Falls.
By the way, the falls is not named after the actress Helen Hunt. The falls are named in honor of Helen Maria Hunt Jackson (1830-1885), a poet and a writer who became an activist on behalf of Native Americans. She was buried in Colorado Springs.
Anyway, off we went. Each of the three oldest grandkids wanted to be in front, which gave us a déjà vu remembrance of their mother, who also always wanted to be in front. Finally, we established that Uncle Keegan should be in front. And, like all established rules when dealing with four grandchildren, that worked part of the time.
We opted to cross the silver cascade falls and everyone did very well except the youngest who slipped and got cooled off by the river. We got to a Y and, after some deliberation by all, decided to stay to the Helen Hunt side of the direction sign. We found out that by doing so we missed some of the highest part of the trail.
So we backtracked to get to the top of the Silver Cascade Falls. It was pretty steep (elevation gain about 300 feet) and the path had been groomed with pretty tall wood borders impeding erosion.
Not a complaint. Not a groan. Not any indication that it was too difficult. I calculated that the way we went we traveled about 2.5 miles, climbed over 400 feet and managed to all return alive.
The mountain air was welcomed by our lungs. The treed mountains were beautiful and the three waterfalls, that are only a trickle in dryer months, were rushing plenty fast for the seven of us. Three of the kids collected sticks to take home with them. You just can’t place a value on a brand-new stick. All expressed a desire to hike again. No one asked to be carried. And they all slept really well that night.
Great Adventures can be fun, family affairs.