Spring Hike at Three Creeks

It's almost like spring hiking season hasn't even begun until we've hiked Three Creeks South. We generally hike it at least a handful of times during the year. It was one of the last hikes we did last year, and now the second AND third one of this year, because we've been there for the last two weekends now. Last Saturday, we had early morning soccer games. They were the first Saturday games of the season because the rain has continually delayed and cancelled one game and practice after another. But once we rolled ourselves out of bed so early for that first game, we figured we may as well be productive with the rest of our day and be outdoors.

And boy did we ever make the most of it. We took one of the boys' friends with us, which was a lot of fun for the boys! 

Eli couldn't wait to get his feet in the water. Finally warm enough! He was the only one who braved the water, but I was thisclose to being right in there with him. 

Notice that Lex has a different approach. Shoes on, not in the water.

And as always, the search for interesting rocks, and the inevitable challenge of skipping them across the water.

The boys just climbed and explored, and then climbed and explored some more.

The sky was perfect. Even though it was only in the 50's, the sun was shining, and that was all that mattered.

The boys found rock paths back and forth across the creek.

We discovered this cliff face last year on this hike. Look carefully. The cliff wall appears to have eyes and a nose. Can you see it?

The three boys skipped rocks, then threw rocks, then dug for rocks, then examined rocks. It's an explorer's playground down there at the creek.

And finally, we followed the rocky path back uphill to this meadow. We met the nicest older couple along the way who talked to us about the spring weather, the flowers they had seen, and their prediction for when morel mushrooms would be coming up. This trail system is very private, and we rarely see anyone, but we always enjoy talking to the people we do meet. Kindred spirits.

The landscape was just beautiful.

The boys started playing hide and seek along the path. Or maybe it wasn't so much hide and seek, but rather hide and jump out when mom and dad walked by.

The next time we're on this trail, it will be much greener! Yeah, spring!

On the homestretch, Lex found this "walking stick" that he carried instead of using for "walking." This kid.

Here are the stats from Geotracker.

On our way out of the conservation area, we couldn't resist stopping to take pictures of this beautiful field and sky. 

That ended our spring hike for the day! Stay tuned for week 2 at Three Creeks. Happy hiking!