My girls are not fans of hiking, yet we still make them do it. And usually you will hear Chris telling them sometime during the hike that these are the experiences they will remember and tell their children about when they make them go on hikes. We chose a different hike than Alberta Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park. We were still in the park but chose instead to head up toward Lawn Lake. Round trip, it would have been about ten miles, so we chose a shorter version. We paralleled the falls (Alluvial Fan Falls) and the river above for over a mile and a half up. Kristen is getting big enough that she can do some walking AND that Chris doesn't want to carry her on his back--she only got to ride part of the way!!
Chris promised the girls that if they would hike WITHOUT whining, they could do something fun in Estes Park when we were finished. They did really well and when we reached our stopping point, there was an OSHA non-compliant bridge that they crossed over to check out the other side.
Our trip down was a lot quicker, though part way down Kristen announced, "I need to go potty." After her second announcement, Chris and I figured we better do something about her need. We stepped to the side of the path, assumed the position with me holding her legs and Chris her upper body when she said, "There's no pee in there, it's poop." We quickly pulled up her pants while laughing and took off at a faster clip to make it to the potty in time.
It was a beautiful hike and Chris and I hope to go sans children next week and try the ten mile hike up to Lawn Lake.