First Colorado Hike... is that snow??

We took the girls on a 4 mile hike today to Lily Pad Pond (elevation: 11,500). Kaylee hiked most of the way in, and mama carried Chloe in the Bjorn. We were sooo proud of her!! When we got to the ponds, we sat down to take a breather, eat a power bar, and take in the view. The scenery consisted of beautiful beaver ponds covered in Lily Pads, snow covered mountain peaks, aspen tree groves (Christy's favorite tree), and... dark clouds building over us. Within about 10 minutes of laying out our picnic, it was clear that we needed to pack up and high-tail it outta there! By the time mama got Kaylee on her back, Paul tucked Chloe in the Bjorn and daypack on his back, it was starting to sprinkle a little. Then, it started to SNOW HARD (Colorado's corn snow)!! Kaylee was crying out "RAIN! RAIN!" (her snow experiences are very limited), and Paul and I jogged along the trail. Pretty soon, the snow/rain softened, and we finished our hike at a pretty brisk pace. While loading up back at the car, the sun came out and there was a rainbow over one of the nearby valleys. That's Colorado in the spring for you! Needless to say, we were all a little wet and a little cold, but it was a fabulous morning of hiking in the mountains. Now, we are back at the condo and everyone is taking a little nap... swimming/hot tubbing to follow this afternoon! Here are some pics from our hike this morning...

Wait for us, Kaylee!!

Mama with her girls...

The whole family in the woods!

Uh oh - here comes the corn snow.

Snowing hard!!
Paul on the trail with Chloe in front in the Bjorn.

Snow is over - but it is still chilly for the little ones.
Chloe's hiding in the Bjorn on Paul's chest,
and Kaylee's hiding in mama's backpack!


Paul navigating some downed timbers with Chloe.

Christy and Kaylee at the trailhead... Kaylee's all done!!
Time to get back in the car, dry out and warm up!