Devil's Post Pile Day 3 (Saturday)

Saturday took a long time to arrive. Annika still did not like sleeping when she was not in her own bed. Cameron spent most of the night in the car with her trying to not allow the neighbors to hear her when she woke up screaming. It also began much to early. We enjoyed muffins for breakfast and prepared for our day of hiking. We decided to hike to Minaret Falls from Soda Springs campground. We planned on hiking down to the Devil's Postpile Ranger Station and then taking the bus out. The hike seemed to be about 3 miles.

Right as we got out of the car there was a bridge that connected us with the Pacific Crest Trail. We hiked over the bridge. I stopped to take a picture since I like bridges. Cameron looked down and spotted a large fish in a pool. He told me, "I am going to catch that fish." I thought that it wasn't a bad idea so we all stopped and waited for him to catch the fish. We didn't have to wait long and the fish was caught.

I loved the hiking trail down to the falls. We were once again hiking alone and it was in tall stands of trees. We hiked past a beautiful meadow and mostly hiked the whole way in the shade. It seemed like an easy hike for all of us and I was glad I had the idea to hike down to the falls instead of up to them.

We arrived at the falls and once again started our time there by ourselves. The falls are very different. There is not nearly as much water flowing over the granite but they are very tall. I didn't get good pictures of the top but here are some of the bottom of the falls. We positioned ourselves on a large flat rock to eat our lunch. Ali spent most of her time trying to catch butterflies and she caught two in about 5 minutes. She kept them in her bug catcher. After lunch Cameron helped the kids climb the boulders to a large pool to wade in. Ali decided that she needed to get in all the way and got soak several times. She actually swam around in the pool. Ashling was more timid but Cameron helped her get her hair wet. Then she laid out like a lizard in the sun to dry off. Later when they came down I went up and took a dip in the pool. We didn't think Annika needed to climb the falls.

The hike down to the ranger station was hot and dry. It wasn't fun because once again it was full of people who were hiking up to the falls. I can't believe I was the only one who thought to take advantage of the busses and only hike down hill. It is more fun because you get to see more and the hike was much better only going down. (I guess it was the visit to the Alps where I was able to see how they hike that allowed me to understand how to use transportation to its best while hiking.)

We rested again in the afternoon. Annika in her crib playing, the girls quietly playing in the campground and Cameron and I snoozed in the tent. That evening we enjoyed showers to get cleaned up a little. I met some people who were hiking the John Muir Trail. I wished to put on my backpack and go along with them. I want to hike the whole John Muir Trail so badly... One day I will.

We enjoyed hot dogs and macaroni and cheese for dinner, the kids choice. Then we had smores with our camping neighbors for dessert. It was a very cold night. And once again very long. Annika spent most of the night in my sleeping bag... which is a mummy bag. There wasn't much room for the both of us but at least she kept me warm.