Winner Creek Trail

We had another fabulous hike this weekend, as part of our annual Family Hiking Series, going on the Winner Creek Trail all the way up to the river gorge – about a 5-mile round trip. We had Mother and Lauren, Me and Rob and his two kids Sierra and Trey, as well as Tina and her daughter & son (I’m so sorry, Tina… I’ve forgotten their names again!) with us this time.

The weather forecast was not so good that day: according to the weather channel it was supposed to be rainy and cold. Rob and his kids had been up near Moose Pass Friday and Saturday, and reported winter-like weather conditions - and not two days prior to the hike I’d overheard some people at the softball game talking about how they actually had to deal with snow up there.

So, we were all rather concerned and bundled up in sweatshirts, windbreakers, and wool socks for the hike - only to find clear blue skies and perfect weather once we got there! Every one of us kept trying to get somebody else to carry our coats for us: poor Rob ended up with his coat, his kid’s coats, three water bottles, and my bag of snacks & other essential items needed on a hike.

Mother and Lauren turned around after about a mile and a half, pleading the 2-hour drive back home. They still had a good hike, and got to see some beautiful scenery along the way. The rest of us went on up to the gorge, where we got to ride the “bucket” that swings out across the sheer 100’ drop-off with gallons and gallons of water gushing through at 100’s of miles per minute. What a spectacular sight that is!

Rob and Trey were the first to cross over, and then had fun working the rope & pulley system to get the “bucket” across for other people (I say that in a half-way sarcastic tone, since it’s a lot of REALLY HARD WORK to get that thing across). Sierra was a little apprehensive about crossing over, but she bravely stepped in with me and went across. The way back was easier for her, since she was an “experienced traveler” by then.

After that we sat for a while and recuperated from all the hard work, then slowly made our way back down to the car. We went at a very easy pace, stopping mid-way to eat our snack and investigate the nearby meadow. The whole hike took us about 4 hours, but as I said - we went very slowly and took our time.