The plan is simple, on the first day we will hike 6 miles along a relatively smooth incline to our base camp at Big Sandy Lake. From there, on day two, we will make our strenuous hike without packs and attempt to reach Cirque of the Towers, hopefully returning before dinner to our base camp. Then finally hike back out on day three.

I find a spot big enough to park the bus about a half mile down the road. I’m so excited to finally set off, the trip has consumed my thoughts for weeks and I know once my feet hit the trail all will be right.

We get out around 9 am and instantly there is an uncanny amount of beauty here. You can look in any direction at any time and want to take a picture. I find myself tripping over rocks often, distracted by the views and each time we break I zone out mindlessly staring. The trail itself begins to alternate between dense pine forests and wide open meadows. Almost from the start we get panoramic views of the mountains in the distance that we are hoping to make our home for the next two evenings. This is truly one of the most beautiful landscapes ever and although I just got here, I already want to come back.

Yesterday, we sat down and let the kids make some guidelines for our trip. They decree, every half mile we stop for water and someone has to tell a joke. Every mile we rest and grab a snack. Solid rules I can get behind. It takes us about four hours to arrive at Big Sandy. Fitz and I left our packs at the base and went to scout ahead. We found a perfect little campsite on a sort of isthmus right between two gorgeous lakes. A short but rocky stream ran right by our campsite that connected the two lakes, a quality water source. I left Fitz to guard our new site to return and get the rest of our crew. A short but challenging scramble with our packs over the stream and a climb up some exposed granite would lead right to our forested camp. Amy cooled off in an unnamed lake nearby that is too cold for actual humans. We set up camp and prepared to make dinner and promptly had our first problem of the trip. Our gas canister is bent, preventing a seal, any time we try to light the stove the entire thing turns into a giant fire ball. We shift focus and everyone gathers firewood and we boil water and make instant ramen the way the first settlers would have. I went down to gather some water and spooked a couple of skinny dippers who thought they had a private lake to themselves. A fisherman later emerged from the forest and didn’t see me just meters away, the water was so clear that I got to watch the fish the entire time while it hunted then bit the lure. We prepared what we could for the much bigger challenge tomorrow and what should be a very chilly night.

On a personal note, I was really impressed with how everyone performed. When hiking with five people, of any age, it just opens up five times the opportunity for anything to go wrong. Five times the chance for injury, for sickness, or for just being over it. None of that happened on day one and everyone finished the hike just as they started, Excited. The lack of young kids on the trail is a reminder of how difficult what I am expecting of them is. We got stopped several times on trail congratulating the kids and by people telling us how they should bring their kids and they never thought about it. We get many questions about how we manage gear, diapers, attitudes, and meals with kids. A few couples dive deeper and ask us how we got them into it. That reminds me. Set the tone from the instant we wake up tomorrow, it’s going to be difficult either way, but our attitude will make it fun.