Time for another round of Angel’s Landing! It was everyone’s first time but mine and I didn’t mind one bit. Three times and I’m still not sick of this hike. Before we left camp, I scavenged some firewood from a vacated camp across the way after consulted Cat on the ethics of doing such a thing. We both concluded that since the camp was empty, it was free for all. Hopefully we’d have a fire tonight.

We set off from camp pretty early, in the hopes of avoiding too much of a queue at the shuttle bus. As we approached the bus stop at the visitor’s centre, turns out we had nothing to worry about. Emma was so keen for a ride on the bus, she ran ahead to save all of us a seat. The first bus was a bit full, so we waited a few minutes for an empty one where we went straight to the back row like the cool kids that we are. I sat next to Emma per her request. Emma counted the stops until it was us at the Grotto.

Here we found a lot of people, setting off on the most popular hike in the park, just like us. Kids in the backpacks and we were off! It was a perfect day, if a little bit sunny, but the wind we’d had at camp had died down so we weren’t holding onto our hats. We made it up the first set of switchbacks without breaks, chatting away as we climbed. We stopped for a view and a rest before heading to the back of the canyon. The shade was a respite from the sun and the flat ground a nice break from the climbing, especially for those carrying children on their backs!

Before we knew it, we’d all climbed the aggressive switchbacks at the back of the mountain and were at the saddle before the last 0.5 miles of chains to the peak. I’d already said I’d look after the kids while everyone else climbed the peak since it was something I’d seen before.

We managed to find a spot of shade where we could all spread out. Derek took first climbing stint and ran up to the landing solo. I’d never seen so many people clambering up the chains and it looked like it would be a slow process to get past those who were taking it slow. Despite this, Derek was out and back in half an hour. He’d French climbed most of the way, avoiding the chains (and therefore the train of people) completely and making his own route. He’d taken enough time for a photo at the top then come straight back. That meant Derek and I were on kid duty while Tom, Cat and Kylie made the ascent.

Derek entertained Oliver while I entertained Emma. We chased chipmunks, counted the number of red t-shirts we saw and had a miniature explore to the cliff so we could see down into the valley.

When we got back to Derek, Emma decided it was time to play with Daddy so I took over Oliver duties just as he was finishing up a bit of avocado wrap. He was mostly done eating, so we progressed on to cleaning his face, hands and body of avocado bits. In the process of him flailing his arms and body around, I ended up with avocado all over me, including in my armpit. Once he’d settled down, I laid him on my thighs and rocked him to sleep with songs. I ran out of lullabies pretty quickly, opting for songs I knew that were baby-friendly. Green Day’s “Time of Your Life” was the winner, in the second chorus, he closed his eyes and went to sleep. I covered the both of us with Derek’s jacket so we were out of the sun and we rocked gently back and forth. When Emma was ready for a nap, I relinquished Derek’s jacket and nabbed mine out of the tree to replace it. Derek and I both lay on our backs with the kids resting on our chests. When Kylie got back to us a few minutes later, Emma was nearly asleep and Oliver was sleeping like a starfish on top of me.

Once everyone was back together, Tom and Cat walked a bit further up the trail while the rest of us started our descent. It was easy going, but having not taped my toes, my hiking boots destroyed my right pinkie toe the whole way down. The pace was steady and the kids were happy enough to be going back to camp. It was hotter on our way back, but the cool breeze that hit us was refreshing.

After a quick bus ride, on which Emma nearly had a nap, we were back at camp and keen to relax. It was beautifully warm with a slight breeze, with white fluff floating all over, making it a magical place. We took it pretty easy, all feeling a bit wrecked from the climb, especially me and Derek thanks to our two big days. I played with Emma a while, then when I was too tired, I switched with Kylie and played with Oliver on the mat as she ran around with child number 1. Oliver and I were happy singing songs as Derek cooked dinner. Tom and Cat joined us a while later and we all chilled out.

Tom and Cat were keen to use up some of their charcoal which they got stated in a chimney they have before pouring it under the fire grill. I took advantage and grilled my chicken next to theirs and put a packet of potatoes and asparagus into the coals. Half an hour later and we all had a scrumptious dinner. Nothing much beats campfire coal cooking. The cooking done, we stared a fire with the wood I’d scavenged that morning. I shared Tomcat’s wine as we sat around the fire drinking and eating chocolate for desert. We stayed up a while past when the family went to bed, not having to put on any warm clothes thanks to the beautiful fire. When the wine bottle was empty, we took a few sticks from the fire and let it dwindle as we crept into our vans.