Observation Point

We spent the day Thursday hanging out in St. George.  The kids played basketball and volleyball at the condo and went swimming after lunch.  Then we all got cleaned up and went to see Rango.  That was one weird movie.

Friday we were at a bit of a loss as to where to go for our last hike.  I wanted to try the Grotto hike but the Ranger said it was still full of snow and ice.  He suggested the trail to Observation Point which is up the same way so we decided to check it out and see how far we could get.  The full trail is 8 miles round trip with a 2200 feet climb.  We made it about a mile shy of the end, so probably 6 miles round trip, and a good 2000 feet up.  The trail was pretty much paved the whole way and mostly free of rocks which made for easy climbing but it was STEEP.

The trail begins at Weeping Rock.  It climbs up and then splits one way to Hidden Canyon and the other way to Observation Point and East Mesa.  After you turn to Observation Point the trail leads up over Weeping Rock and then back into this narrow canyon.  It was beautiful.

The trail comes around to this small wash.  I imagine this is usually dry or just a trickle but today it was fast flowing and 44 degrees!  We hung around for 20 minutes or so trying to decide if and how to cross.  Ryan decided to just take off his shoes and socks and ferry kids across.

This was us freezing while we tried to decide whether or not to cross the wash.

Immediately after we crossed the wash we came to a part of the trail that is in the water.  The kids bucked up and took off their own shoes and socks and tip toed through the water.  Ryan still carried Austin and Eden but at the last minute he set Austin on and log and Austin fell in, soaking his shoes and socks.  The little man was NOT happy about that.  We wrung out his socks and just had him hike barefoot in his wet shoes.  He was a total trooper!

Eden and I waded through the water too but I waited for a hand from Ryan to make sure I didn't slip and fall. Evelyn slept through the whole thing!

Then we went up and up and up and up.  This last part of the trail is marked as "strenuous" but I think the worst part was the sheer drop offs.  So many times Austin would wander near the edge and we would all scream "Austin, stay away from the edge." And he would yell back, "I know!"  It was funny, but I ended up having nightmares the next two nights about the kids getting too close to the edge.  The worst was when Eden almost walked off the edge because she was looking through the camera while trying to take a picture of a tree that was just beyond the trail.  My stomach still jumps just thinking about it.

This great view of the valley was as far as we made it up the trail.  It climbs another 150 feet and then winds around the bluff for more great views but we were pretty happy with this and ready to head back down.  I hadn't planned for such a long hike and we were running out of time and food.

I'm so glad we made it as far as we did because the view was awesome!

It was a little windy so we went back along the trail a little way so I could feed the baby.

Evelyn was happy, full, and wide awake for the walk back down the mountain.

We made it back down the trail in half the time it took us to get up.  When we came back to the wash everyone knew right what to do.

Cameron decided she didn't need Dad's help getting back across the swiftly moving water.  Without our realizing it she pulled Austin up on her back and took him across with her.  I'm so glad I didn't see that when it was happening and I'm grateful for Dallin who took pictures as proof.

This time the baby and I ran across without help.  That water was painfully cold and I just couldn't bear the thought of Ryan standing in it any longer.  We both had to stop for a few minutes to get feeling back into our feet before we continued down the trail.

One last look at the valley before we headed home.  We had a wonderful vacation and I was so impressed with the kids who hiked about 10 miles this week without complaining.