Memorial Day Weekend Hike

Scott, Brody and I spend this past Sunday hiking on the Laurel Falls trail in Carter County.  Brayden was out of town and missed all the fun.  My Maisy-girl got to join us for this hike and did really well.  It was a lot for her little legs, but she kept going.  She did spend the ride home sleeping.  😂
The hike is a little over 5 miles round trip. 

Here we are at the start of the trail.  All smiles, not sweating or muddy at all! 

The hike follows the Laurel Fork of the Doe River.  It leads to a 50+ foot waterfall.  We had some heavy rain the day before our hike, so parts of the trail were muddy.  The rain also gave the river and the waterfall some extra power.

This was a training hike, of sorts.  Scott and I are planning a big hike for this summer.  It will require both of us to wear hiking packs.  I do not have much experience carrying hiking packs, so for this hike, I carried a pack loaded with hiking/camping gear.  Brody also carried his pack with a few items inside. 

We followed the AT and the Low Water Trail on our way in.  The low water trail did have some significant climbs.  At one point, we found ourselves hiking along a ridge.  The views along this hike are really amazing. 

The trek also required us to hike along a rock cliff (not super high) with the river below.  Brody is such an impressive hiker for a 10 year old. 

This was as we started our journey back from the falls.  We decided to take the high water trail out, which meant we had to climb about a million rock steps up to the trail.  Maisy had it best.  Scott carried her up the steps.

It was a really nice day.  It wasn't too hot.  We did have the threat of rain, but luckily we didn't get rained on at all.  I am looking forward to our big hike later this summer.