Hiking to the Living Room

Memorial Day morning we set out for a new adventure in the hills above the University of Utah. Our destination? According to our guide book, an EASY SHORT hike to a place called THE LIVING ROOM, a collection of granite slabs high on the hill that people have arranged to look like couches and chairs and that overlook the entire Salt Lake Valley.

3 of the 4 at the trailhead. I can't believe SJ still expects us to carry him up the mountain! He'll be 17 months old this month!

Strike a pose!

Basically, the hike was a lot more strenuous than we anticipated. It took us almost two hours to get to the top, and the path was steeply uphill the entire way. But the views were amazing:

Don't let the smiles fool you---we were sucking air like nothing else! (Well, just Rich and I---the kids actually did just fine. They are all truly amazing hikers---they never seem to run out of energy!)

There were lots of rattlesnake breeding grounds (I mean rock piles) along the way, and Garrett checked them all out.

When we finally reached the top, I was concentrating too much on not having a heart attack to take any great pictures.  I was also trying to keep the children from plummeting to their death off the side of the rocky ledge that they call "The Living Room".

Oh, but downhill never felt so good!

Trademarks of a King Family Hike

1. No matter how many times I give the "we need to all stay together" and "you can go a little ways ahead but I still have to be able to see you" lecture, the children will inevitably get too far ahead of their slow poke parents and then we are yelling through the forest for them to wait. This happens about 100 times per hike.

2. Everyone will fight over who gets to carry the camelbacks (we only have 2), but no one ever fights over who gets to carry Sam .

3. What ever snack I bring for the trail, it is not the one they wanted. Evidently they want granola bars on odd calendar days and crackers and peanut butter every third Memorial Day. Who knew?

4. The children are convinced every spur leading off of the trail is  a "shortcut".  It's a miracle Search and Rescue has never had to come to our aid.

5. Just to make me crazy, when given a choice between walking on the inside of a trail or walking on the outer edge of the CLIFF OF DEATH, the children will choose the latter.

Given all that, we still somehow manage to have fun....