The Beautiful Mrs K and I visited Pickle Springs back in May during a rain storm. It was an amazing adventure and we swore we'd come back in the winter. Since it has been raining and the trails were too wet for us to mountain bike, we dragged Eli and the Hound Dog with us for a pre-winter revisit of the magical trail.
Although Eli hasn't loved every hike we've been on over the past few years, he loved this one. He and his faithful Hound Dog were really impressed with the crazy rocks and roots and bluffs and boulders that Pickle had to offer.
This time around, we went counter-clockwise. That put us in Rockpile Canyon right away. One benefit of this late fall trip: the leaves have fallen from the trees so there are even more amazing views.
Shelf upon shelf upon shelf of cool rocks.
We were anxious for Eli to fall in love with the place (which he did) but the real hero of the day was our own 4-wheel-drive Hound Dog. He performed feats of strength and agility that we had no idea he possessed.
Plus, having just rained, Hound Dog pulled Eli into many wet and wonderful situations. Eli was not complaining. Lucky for Eli, he had on waterproof shoes.
The bright sunshine and lack of leaves gave us plenty to ooh and ahh over.
Once we got into the large rock formations, Eli became a rock climber. We saw a little of this while in Elephant Rocks over the summer, but....
....there was not a high rock that this boy didn't get atop today.
Last time Mrs K and I were here, we didn't venture too far off the beaten path. Now that we were being dragged along by the Rock Climber and the Hound Dog, we saw a LOT more of the formations and the views that came along with them.
Eli and I tried to sit in every hollow that we could. Remi looks like he is cut in half in this panoramic photo, but he moved while I was taking it.
Yes, Eli, I see that you have climbed yet another scary rock formation!
Someone had a laugh by putting a little plastic skull inside one of the thousands of holes that dot the boulders and formations.
Somehow we got the Hound Dog to sprint through this little hole and he was super excited about it.
The sun was dazzling and the wind was howling in some spots.
Spectacular overhangs and colors.
I was wishing that I could get all of the beauty and awe of the sights in one photo, but the best I can come up with is Team Kakouris in a panorama.
And yes, there are boulders right over your head when you hike this trail.
And here our exquisite male model is showing off the new fall line of sweat shirts while posing next to boulders.
This was really neat and very cold when standing under the streams of water.
Another panoramic shot from inside one of the hollows. Perhaps my favorite.
At some point we had to wonder who was enjoying the water and waterfalls more...Eli or the Hound Dog?
This one was high and scary. Nope, not coming up with you.
If you look hard, you can see the beautiful Mrs K in between those boulders.
Eli was really impressed with the key holes. Of course after he stood under the shelf.......
...he had to stand on top of it.
On the way out, just a few hundred yards from the end of the trail is a long crevice that is full of tiny caves. I had to lighten this photo up a bit so you can see the details. I asked Eli to check it out.
And THIS is actually my favorite photo. A pic of the kid who hates to hike with us having such a great time. And now both he AND the Hound Dog are worn out and snoozing.
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