Diez Vistas

A week ago today, our crew joined up with two other families and took on the longest hike we've ever done.  This one was called "Diez Vistas" or "Ten Views".  In our research, we discovered that it was supposed to be a 5-6 hour hike over rocky terrain with lots of incline.  We wondered if the girls were ready for something like this - especially on what promised to be a really hot day.  We knew that if there were other kids and adults in our group, chances are it would bring out the best in us and put us ALL on our best behavior.  (ALL means me, if you're wondering).  So we took the challenge and eagerly looked forward to the day ahead.

Our group consisted of our family, the C family (Marc, Michelle, Elise (8) and Vivi (6)) and the Dominguez /Shore family (Roberto, Marilyn, Emilia (10) and Silvio (8)).  As you can see, there were lots of little people in our bunch.  But little does not usually mean unable.  I laughed my face off when Vivi appeared at the trail-head wearing sequined ballet flats for the hike.  She had told her mom that her runners hurt her feet and these were the best choice for her.  Low and behold, the kid was right.  She was near the lead most of the way, taking the trail by storm.  Don't ever say that you can't have bling on a hike.

Diez Vistas is supposed to a loop that takes you through 10 scenic viewpoints along the way.  We had our maps and our trail guide and we were prepared.  We even had 2 cans of bear spray, bells, whistles, and a knife! While we were prepared for the 10 viewpoints, we didn't see them all, as you'll soon find out.

The trail started off with some steep inclines.  I expected them to even out after the first half hour or so, but two hours later, we were still going up...

After a few hours of beauty, great conversation and NO complaining, we got to the first viewpoint where we put our packs down for some lunch and a short rest. 

                                             The view from the first stop really was beautiful!

It's a good thing we had our lunch when we did!  After we started up again afterward, we began the anticipated "switch-backs" of the trial ... the zigs and zags to get you up the steepest inclines.  The younger the people, the better they did!  We adults were huffing and puffing, but the kids were running on skittles, sour wine gums and adrenaline!

An hour or so later we reached the second small viewpoint area, and then finally, the peak of the mountain.  The peak was at 550 m elevation, but we started the hike at 110 m, so we climbed 440 metres of elevation together. 

                                                                   It felt really good!

                                                     Here are the girls digging into the candy fuel
                                                             bags to get us back onto the trail!

This is our fearless 8 year old leader, Silvio!  No joke!  This kid RAN most of the way up that mountain, and held the lead position all the way back down again.  He is in crazy-good shape and has amazing endurance from playing A LOT of soccer.  He was amazing!

After we reached the peak, we were a little confused and befuddled about where the trail continued on.  We had been warned that the markings were not very good.  After a bit of discussion, we started down the trail we thought was the right one, only to discover about 15 minutes in, that it was the same trail we came up on.  By this point, we decided to just keep on, as making our way back and then finishing out the loop would take us back to the trail-head very close to dusk.

Here we are, rounding in towards the finish point.

The great thing about "Diez Vistas" is that it begins and ends at Buntzen Lake - a great little beach for swimming.  We had remembered to bring our bathing suits along, but left the flip-flops at home.  Who needs fashion when you're superstar hikers, anyway?

           The water was cool and refreshing.  The view was spectacular, and the chair felt really good.

The best part of the day was we did it, and we knew we could do it again.

Here's to more long hikes, good friends, and pushing yourself further than you thought you could go.