Oak babe had her 5th birthday yesterday, March 20, so I decided the best present would be to do what she loved - hiking. 
oak as a little pup, first camping trip

2nd camping trip - San Rafael Swell

We headed out and we were going to go to the icy waterfall again but there were way too many people in the parking lot so we changed plans! We drove across the highway and went bush-whacking, looking to see if we could spot some deer. We found a trail on the way back that made things easier , but not quite as adventuresome ;)

*Do not go off-trail if you do not have the skills to do so, ALWAYS know where you are with map/gps and bring extra supplies in case you get lost!*

Track log
We bush-whacked on the southern (bottom) loop, and came down the trail on the northern (upper) loop

Elevation graph - steep!
Hike stats:
Distance: 4.8 miles total
Elevation start: 4856 ft
Elevation max: 6436 ft
Elevation gain: 1580 ft


We pulled off the highway across from Bridal Veil

Up the road

Up the steep road past the gate

Looking back down

Timp mountain

Came across some construction

We wanted to Monkey Wrench it, but decided that probably wasn't the best idea

Took a game trail

Diverted from the road trail here

Oak having the best birthday

Getting a better view



Happy 5 years Oak!!

Cascade & Johnson's bowl

Love this mountain 

Ate some thistle - peel the fuzzy/spiky stuff off first ;)

Timp

Oak's birthday treat

Tuna!

Eating my favorite pita chips!

Chex mix treats

Bird's nest




Cascade with sunset light 

Deer!!

These two silhouetted the ridge line and kept a close eye on us