First Lake Loop: Basking in the fall sunshine

"I am a sparrow flying high above the trees, mommy" F yells while running up the trail from the First Lake in Seymour Provincial Park. 

Before leaving the house I had very low hopes for the day. F didn't sleep every much last night and she had cried for about 50% of the time since she got up. About the Cheerios being too crunchy, the tear cloth being used to dry up milk and her princesse dress being in the dryer. Luckily the mood seemed to change as soon as we went to the car and she was happy as a clam for the rest of the day. We met with Michelle and her 3 year old, and Jen and her 7 month old at the Seymour Parking lot. The kids played at the trailhead for awhile before we set off. It is 1.1 km to the lake along the lower trail. The trail is pretty flat, but still challenging with lots of little ups and downs, roots and mud puddles. It probably took us an hour to get to the lake due to the amount of mud investigations going on. At the lake we had lunch and enjoyed the sun, while the kids waded around in the lake. Jen fed and changed the baby before taking her on a hike out to Dog Mountain. 

First Lake. Photo by Michelle.

The next part of the loop includes a little bit of elevation gain, but the kids were just chugging along. F pretending to be a sparrow, a moose and a mountain goat along the way. We made it to the Seymour Main Trail junction before I heard the first complaint about tired legs, so we took a small snack break before jumping down the last part of the trail to the parking lot.

Michelle: "It was the kind of day where you had to pinch your arm to be sure it was real."

​Total hiking distance: 2.4 km
Elevation gain: ~100 m
More trail info