First Foray into the Forest

At Auntie Kelsie's brilliant invitation, the three of us took Madelyn on her first hike in the Columbia River Gorge this morning. We set out first thing for Angel's Rest, a fairly steep 4.6 mile trail that offers stunning views of the gorge, the forest, rock slides, and waterfalls and ultimately summits on a cliff overlooking the river about 1,500 feet up. It was cool and misty when we first got started, but the sun popped out just as we summited and made for one heck of a gorgeous lunch spot. Madelyn, as always, was nothing but smiles and laughter. She rode in a backpack carrier on Kurt's back and loved every minute of it. We fed her at the top of the trail and even changed a poopy diaper on the rocks (that sounds like a really bad cocktail..."poopy diaper on the rocks..."). She even conked out for a bit on the way down, having missed her morning nap, and resumed being her playful self when it was time to load up the car and head home. How did we get such a happy, flexible, easy-to-please kid?!