Hiking, Cave & Basin & Hot Spring

We thought the day was going to continue to rain...however of course it was a really hot day..Not the best to go to the hotsprings. The kids still loved it. I loved it for the fact that it gave me a chance to recover from the early mornings 3.5 hour hike. Aaahhhh!

The kids on top of the roof of the old cave and basin (site of the old hotsprings). They loved the nostalgia of this. This is also the place where there great grandmother Irwin worked for a year.

The second hotspring site where most of the older generation would remember.

The original cave and basin -aka hotspring site that was discovered. Two men carved out the side of the mountain to gain access. It is quite the site. Just be prepared to smell all that sulphur. It's very strong in the cave.

Kristen and Shawn made it to the very top - 2350m high and the last portion mostly vertical climbing. They carved our family name at the top for all to see. Not very many people make it up here as it is a very difficult climb.

The view from the top of the mountain overlooking Mt. Edith. Pictures cannot describe the beauty.

We all made it to approx. 3/4 of the way up...However, I was beat. It was such an arduous climb as I wore jeans thinking we would be climbing and going through tall grass....The temp. was +31. Ty did really well on the climb, however he did get tired at the first big stop (3/4 of the way up). So me and Amy stayed with him as Shawn and Kristen trudged onward. I wasn't too sure how long they would be, so Amy, Ty and I set back for the car. Ty's legs hurt too much to walk down so I carried him. God obviously gave me the strength at this time as I never gave up with carrying him...even when we were on more level ground. Amy scooted on her butt as the trek down was very steep. We saw a black bear cub as we got closer to the finish. With alot of singing and walking as fast as we could we did get back safely. Shawn and Kristen did as well. They were soaked by the time they got back as Mountain temperatures change quickly and they were hit by a cloud that dumped alot of rain on them.

Kristen showing off with me lying down and Ty jumping on top. My calves were burning like you wouldn't believe. The only good thing from this trip is that all other hikes after this were not as hard (at least the ones I went on). The other good thing is that my calves have had the best stretch of their life.