Cathedral Rock to be exact.  Last weeked we went for a family hike in the Spring Mountains at the Mount Charleston National Recreation area.  The mountains are about a half hour from the northern edge of Las Vegas making it about an hour drive for us.  Due to the altifude (about 7,000 feet compared to the 2,800 feet at the house) the temperatures are significantly cooler.  On the day we were there, the thermometer read 90 at our house but only 72 in the mountains.  Plus, as I knew from previous experience, the whole area has the overwhelming smell of pine trees.  A perfect escape.

The Cathedral Rock trail is roughly a 4 mile out and back hike with a moderate elevation gain to a gorgeous vantage point at about 8,600 ft over the valley.  The area is beautiful, and most of the drive in from Route 95 climbs through a canyon carved by the massive amounts of water running down out of the mountains.  It is loaded with Joshua Trees, and there was much discussion about whether or not anyone would catch us if we dug up one of the protected plants.  We figured it would be a good spot for the kids.  But there were a number of things that went wrong. 

First, the elevation really got to Michelle’s head.  She had a headache and was rather out of it.  I felt badly, and offered to turn back, but she said she was okay to go on.  Next time we will be sure to pack some Advil and I will make her overhydrate. Even if that means waterboarding.  Kidding.  Mostly.

Second, Chloe’s “legs hurt.”  That makes for a fun walk for the rest of us. Every few minutes there was a little whining and we had to take a break.  Finally with about 3/4 of a mile to go, I put her on my shoulders. We were almost at the top and she had been mostly a trooper, so I carried her a decent chunk of the rest of the hike up.  She said, “this is much better.”  I’m sure it was.  The people coming the other way thought I was crazy.

Finally, and in my opinion, the worst, I forgot the bag with Chloe and Michelle’s lunches.  Now if it had been in the car, it wouldn’t had bothered me as much.  But the bag was still nice and cool in our refrigerator.  No worries about it spoiling. Ugh.  We divided up the food we had, and no one was hungry.  Fortunately.  I felt bad enough.  A nice man at the top took our picture enjoying half of our food.  (Chloe still ate hers after we got home.)

The view from the top was pretty great.  In the not too distant distance is Mount Charleston looming overhead at 12,000 feet.  That one is for a different day, with a slightly different summit party – probably a neighbor instead of the wife and kids at my side.  But down below our vantage point were a number of houses in the small town.  Satellite dishes and solar panels on almost all of them.  The weather up here gets pretty nasty in the winter (Mt. Charleston is also a ski resort).

During our break at the summit, Chloe wanted to take our picture, and then complained that we were too far away.  It came out anyway.

Once we got home the kids were worn out and wanted to do something slightly less strenuous.  Needless to say they slept well that night.