Bell Canyon Hike

 Today we  hiked the Bell Canyon Trail.  This was our first hike of the summer, only about 10 minutes from home.  There are so many day hikes along the Wasatch Front. Our plan is so go on 1or 2 hikes a week this summer.  

The majority of the trail was fairly steep and full of boulders, perfect for climbing on.

DC and I carried our camel-backs to keep hydrated, mine had a leak so my backside was wet the whole way. Good way to stay cool though.

We took several rest stops on the way up - this stop has a really nice shade tree for us.

At the top of the trail is this reservoir. The trail circles around the reservoir, but we decided to stay at this spot and cool our feet off for a bit.

Water in this reservoir is run off from the snow glaciers above. VERY COLD!

Frijoles brought up her notebook and worked on a story she's writing

T.T was looking for rocks when this huge ladybug decided her hat was a good resting spot.

Buba wanted to take pictures too, this one and the one below are one's that he took - not to shabby!

T.T. helping two worn out boys after a long day on the trail.

We had one scary moment on this hike. After our first stop at the water, we decided to hike half way around the lake to a waterfall we could see.  Frijoles, already tired, was grumpy, and started walking ahead of the group to get it over with sooner. I had stopped to help Buba take some photos, when I hollered up to Frijoles to stop and wait. What we didn't realize is that the trail forked slightly from where I had seen her.  She had sat down to wait, but as we walked to catch up to her we took the other bend in the trail.  We walked for about 10 minutes, thinking that she was in SO much trouble for not waiting for us. Thinking she must be running because we hadn't seen her yet, we decided that DC should run up ahead while I walked back the other way with the little kids to wait.  DC ran up ahead , and asked everyone on the trail - with no luck - if they had seen her.  Meanwhile, she had come back up the trail to look for us. When she couldn't find us she asked another family on the trail if she could us their cell phone - but there was no reception available. A few minutes later, on my way back, I met up with her and this family.  DC however, ended up running the whole loop of the lake (aggravating his asthma) searching for her.   We met up with him at our original stopping place by the lake. After getting a lecture about never having an 'attitude' on the trail again, we  headed back down the trail for home.  Along the way, several concerned hikers asked if we had found her.  It was very comforting knowing so many people were looking out for her as well.  Frijoles was a bit shaken up from the experience, but it turned out okay, and I'm grateful that this was nothing worse than a important lesson learned. (hopefully learned!).