Hiking, or Climbing???

Earlier this week Mike casually mentioned that he and Josh were going to go "hiking" on Wednesday. Being the supportive wife I am, and happy that he and his son were going to be doing some male bonding, I eagerly supported this venture. The night before they headed out, Mike told me he would email me a location, so I was aware of where they would be.  I should've been more suspect over their adventure when I read the email the next morning; If we don't contact you before it gets dark, call 911. "Geez, I just thought they were going on a little hike in the mountains," I thought. I guess it never hurts to be prepared for anything.

Here's my idea of a hike, and what I assumed the entire day would be like. Notice the beautiful scenery, walking sticks, breathrite, gentle uphill climb.

 Well from the photos below, you can see I was obviously mistaken!

See the lookout on top this peak?

Guess where this was taken...

This was the "hike" leading there (click on the photo and you can see the lookout in the larger photo)...

That building was the Hidden Lake Lookout, and it had a beautiful view overlooking Hidden Lake. It was frozen over, but you could see bits of magnificently pristine blue water around the edges.

After that ascent, they climbed to one more peak, with more beautiful views of Mt. Baker and other glorious sites. Look closely and you can see the lookout they just occupied, as seen from the second peak...

 In all it took them six hours to climb up, but only two hours to get down. Think Mike had an accident coming down?

Nope, they just took a shortcut that left him cold and wet...

Now that I know the definition of "hiking," I am a little hesitant of their expressed desire to do this more often. However, looking at the breathtaking views, and wanting to encourage them spending more time together, I will not voice my concern (and who knows, maybe even join them someday:).