Fernie Day 4 - Hiking

Day 4 was hike day.  Reed and I, Drew and Brittany, and Reed and Steph decided to try a longer hike called the 3 Sisters.  Mom and Dad decided to take the kids on a shorter hike, I think it was called Fairy Falls.  Here are some pictures of their hike:

Conner posing by a stump:

They made it to the falls!:

Alan the hiker:

Apparently they found a bathtub on the trail?  Nice group picture though:

After that they took the kids to the spray park.  Conner going through the tunnel:

Brooklyn manning a water gun:

Micah and Conner:

Alan:

Now for our hike - here is a picture of the 3 Sisters.  Our hike would take us to the top of the middle peak:

We got an early start but it was not easy to find the trailhead.  We ended up on a dirt road that was very muddy.  The mud finally got the best of us and we pulled off and parked and walked the rest of the way to what we thought was the trailhead:

 

Here we are starting off:

The hike was fairly steep.  Here we are taking a break to catch our breath and enjoy the view:

Here's the view - gorgeous!!:

The further up we went the more snow there was.  Reed looking up toward the peak:

We crossed some big snow fields:

Unfortunately we came to a wide snowfield that was also quite steep with a boulder field at the bottom.  We had decided beforehand that if we came to a steep snowfield, and the risk of death or dismemberment seemed high, that we would turn back.  We agreed that we had reached the end of the line and had to turn back.  Reed and Drew throwing rocks onto the slope and watching them slide down.  Ready, Set...:

Launch!:

Even though we were disappointed that we couldn't reach the summit we were still happy to be hiking together in such a beautiful place:

Trying out the panoramic feature on Reed's phone:

Reed and I just before we turned back:

Reed and Steph:

Drew and Brittany were there but I can't find their couple picture...

 

Then we headed back down - did I mention that it was pretty steep in spots?:

We found out that we didn't start at the official trailhead but our trail still took us up the mountain.  Here is Steph, me and Drew coming back down:

That night everyone was tired.  We just relaxed and chilled.  Here is Uncle Reed and Micah playing on a tablet:

Fernie Day 3 - Surveyors Lake

We had heard about a lake that had turtles in it so we picked a warm day and headed off to find them.  We walked around one lake and then walked to another lake where we found lots and lots of turtles:

We were all intrigued by the turtles that seemed to cover every surface that rose above the water:

Then we walked back to the other lake and had lunch:

That afternoon we played in the sand and water and just relaxed.  Reed and Steph soaking up the rays:

Drew and Brittany:

Conner and Micah playing in the water:

Brooklyn and Micah playing in the water:

Reed and the kids (minus Conner):

Warming up on the beach:

Conner and Drew showing off the crayfish they caught:

That night we came home and had dinner and roasted marshmallows:

It was nice to sit outside and enjoy each other's company:

Silly Conner!: