Ptarmigan Valley and Roundtop

Zach and I went for a hike yesterday. We took the whole family - Honey, Frodo and Darby (aka Fatty). In all we hiked about 10 miles roundtrip and gained about 4000 feet in elevation. Several times during the hike, I certainly considered turning back and Darby laid down along the side of the trail many times and took lots of encouragement to keep going. There were long up hill sections that just didn't seem like they would end. But, about 2 1/2 hours later, we opened into a gorgeous valley ablaze in fall colors. Also there were alpine blueberries as far as the eye could see.

Today, my ankle hurts and Darby can barely walk. Nonetheless, we'll be back to this spot, likely next fall with a tent and buckets so we can pick blueberries to our hearts' content.