Round-Trip Distance: 2.2 miles

My go to hiking book is, Best Hikes with Children: Western and Central Oregon. At the point of this writing (June 2013) we had done almost all the hikes that are within reach of us.

This was one of the first hikes of the season and OMG there were a lot of mesquitos. Had I been on my toes, I should have turned around and gone the other way, but instead I just picked up Noah and Isabel at 25lb each and RAN. So yes, I ran with the kids on my sides for over a mile! It was a really wet year from what I heard and the road on the east side had just become passable.

Once we got through the swarms we stopped at the picnic area and had some lunch and blew bubbles and everything was set right again. I haven’t been back, but would like to, so I can really take in this hike. It was enjoyable… the part I saw when I wasn’t running.