4 hours, 10 miles and a slug along the way

Saturday started out bright and early with 15 minutes of wake up plyo.  After that I felt so energized and ready to go!          

If you haven’t tried it before, first thing when you get up out of bed do 1 minute of jumping jacks, high knees, butt kicks or really any move that gets you jumping for at least 3-5 minutes.  I bet you will feel awake and energized.  Tell me if it works!                 

After I went through my morning routine it was time to pack my lunch and snack: baby carrots, mini bell peppers, almonds/peanut/dried cranberry mix, avocado, shredded chicken and mixed greens on whole grain bread and an apple               

      

         

We were going hiking!  Our hydration packs and Joe’s bag was filled up.                  

                 My red pack was stuffed to the brim I actually had to put my sandwich and bell peppers in Joe’s bag.  What a sweet dog – carrying some of my food and all 🙂                

  

After a 60 minute car ride we arrived at Multnomah Falls in Oregon.  Joe was ready to get going!                  

                  

We started up the hike toward the first bridge at the bottom on the falls.  This area is usually pretty packed with tourists, so we like to get through it quickly and up to the less traveled areas.                  

                 

Once past the bridge the switchbacks began.  A LOT of switchbacks… long switchbacks.                   

                  

We powered up the mountain.  Our hearts were pumping.  I’m sure Joe thought we were going to slow.                 

Once at the top of Multnomah Falls we took a mini break.  You could look over the railing down all the way to the bottom bridge and parking lot.  I only looked once.  It made me feel dizzy looking over the railing.                  

                 

Onward and up…                  

                 

We saw a bunch more mini falls.                 

                  

Crossed 3-4 bridges.                  

                  

Encountered dangerous species.                 

                 

A lot of the trail was along side water.  The sounds were so peaceful and refreshing.                 

                 

There was a stretch of trail that was just rocks.   We really had to watch our steps to not roll an ankle.                  

               

We crossed a little stream surrounded by rocks.  On the way back it seemed so much easier (Joe was determined to get to the man sitting on the other side eating his lunch).                

It took us 2.5 hours to get up and 1.5 hours going down.  The hike from Multnomah falls to Larch mountain was 6.8 miles one way.  We didn’t make it the whole way, but probably about 5 miles up.         

FLASH BACK    

     Multnomah Falls is actually the first hike Jacob and I went on for our 1 year anniversary back in 2005.  We didn’t go quite as far as we did on Saturday back then. 

Here we are on the way to the hike stopped at the Vista House.  It has gorgous views. 

  

      

Saturday’s hike really wore us out.  Hiking is such an amazing workout (especially all the uphill climb), plus being outdoors has it’s own way of refreshing the body.  I can’t wait for our next hike 🙂