Lil' Loons are back at it! Wahtum Lake to EC TH 9/15/13

[hike4fun]

The Lil’ Loons group is growing! Lil’h4f has added one of her bff’s to the group. Crouching Treker, Flying Hiker aka ‘CTFH’ have been friends since birth and he’s training for his black belt in Taekwondo. So, he took the challenge when Lil’h4f invited him and his Dad ‘Papa D’ to join us on our 15 miler we had planned last Sunday from Wahtum Lake to Eagle Creek Trailhead. Since Lil’h4f and I needed a shuttle…we found our hiking buddies for the day!

Thanks to mjuliana for his recommendation of doing this hike in two days, we wanted to do it! BUT…Lil’h4f was not having any part of doing an overnight. She said she has her limits and she’s not in to “backpacking…yet”. LOL! Hint…she’s already picked out our campsite for next summer.

We were out the door by 5:30am, got the mom van comfortably parked NOT in the spot with the broken glass at EC TH. Then the long windy drive to Wahtum Lake. UGH…but nothing a little coffee and two giddy kids ready to hit the trail can’t overcome! We were on the trail at Wahtum by 8am. What a treat when we saw the lake for the first time.



Lil’h4f and CT…this Mom was a little nervous when both ended up falling within a 100 yards of the TH! CT was sporting a bright orange bandaid on his elbow the entire trip!


Papa D and CT…so proudly displaying his orange bandaid to match the nasty orange shirts I had to stare at all day. Go Oregon!


Hike4Fun and Lil’h4f…regretting not wearing our Oregon shirts. Lol


On the right path…


We want to come back and check out Chinidere Mt Trail!


The mushrooms were crazy looking…


The setting brought on a long conversation about Narnia. The fog gave it such a great feeling..








First of MANY water crossings


Such a great feeling early in the morning. And then the thunder started…






The little waterfalls were everywhere!


Campsite #1 Lil’h4f picked out about 3 ½ miles in to the hike. Lol!


Then we came in to the burned out area. So strange that you can see where the fire stopped as it went up the trees…




She was enthralled with how the tree looked like it burned from the inside out. So fun to see nature through her eyes.




Still on the right trail…


The Lil’ Loons were ready for lunch around mile 7. We found a great campsite and enjoyed our go to…smoked trout and triscuits. Mmmm…


More waterfalls! We could hear the rain on the canopy of the trees above us, but we stayed pretty dry. Especially when everyone put their layers back on!








Just before 7 ½ mile camp, the parents had a little watergun ambush planned…


After our little break, and feeling refreshingly wet…we moved on.


Lil’h4f found her 2nd campsite…lol


Welcome to vertigo mile…






Something about water…it’s so calming and beautiful




Papa D doesn’t do heights…did I mention that? LOL!








The kids were LOVING this part!




And what we’ve been waiting for…Tunnels Falls!










Welcome to Potholes…


More fun water crossings!








More heights Papa D! LOL!


Getting Closer!


Starting to get a ‘Lil’ Loony’


“You have to tell people this with a sign?” LOL!






We did it! 15.75 miles! What a fantastic day!


CT is ready for an 18 miler now! Any takers?!?!


We survived! 15.75 miles! And enjoyed some ice cream afterwards.

[Peder]

Well done! Two up and coming hikers have certainly earned some well deserved bragging rights!

[Born2BBrad]

Looks like Lil’h4f and CTFH will be blowing by me and the other Loonies in no time.

The most amazing thing: getting kids up at 5:30 AM to go hiking.

Keep ‘em hiking,
Brad

[Eric Peterson]

Go Beavs!!

[Guy]

Good job guys, Climbing the South Sister is going to be a breeze for y'all next year :^)

[hike4fun]

Peder...they were both pretty sore Monday morning and were very proud of their accomplishment!

Brad...They will be passing me up soon enough! Getting them up at 5am was actually no issue. They were so excited for the hike! And there was a lot of trash talking going on in the car on the way up. Lol!

EP...thought I might like you. Now...not so much. Go Ducks!

Guy...Lil'h4f quote of the day "15 miles is a little harsh". Hence.... still working on the South Sister Summit.

[RobinB]

Nicely done! My dad used to take me on trips like that twenty years ago. It's a real gift you're giving the Lil' Loons.

[Water]

warms my heart to see kids enjoying the outdoors like this.

almost melts away all my FS rants and sharp words about permits. Ok, for a few minutes it did entirely

Thanks for sharing, looks like a fantastic time out.

p.s.: when I first clicked I thought I was going to see some beautiful actual loons at Wahtum lake, haha!

[mjuliana]

Wow is all I can say. Great job all around. The 'Lil Loons should be proud of what they did. 15 miles in a day is pretty impressive. Now you know why it is one of our favorite hikes although we've never been loony enough to do it all in one day.

Keep at it. We all love seeing your reports...

[hike4fun]

RobinB...I hope that my.daughters will have the same fond memories when I'm too old to.get on the trail with them.

mjuliana...thank you again for the recommendation! It was a fantastic hike & the Lil' Loons are pretty damn proud of themselves! I still can't believe they did it
I actually inserted 2 videos in the TR but they.came through as photos...the watergun fight amd one of them finishing at the EC TH. You can see how proud they are. Lol! But Lil'h4f has now put a 12 mile max limit on our hikes. We'll see how long that lasts. I guarantee as soon as her sister passes her up, she'll be back to the loony hikes.