I made the last minute decision to go on a hike on Saturday, just a quick one close by at Antelope Island, so Tim and I grabbed our Osprey kid backpack for hiking and prepped both kids, some snacks, water, and of course a bowl and water for our puppy Zoey as well. We had never been to Antelope Island, despite it being about ten minutes down the street from us, and luckily we brought the $15 cash needed to get to the island, (there was a payment booth to get there). The lake was pretty empty, I've heard people say it's been getting lower and lower every year and they think it will disappear in the near future, and you could almost walk across on dry land to the island on it's eastern side at this point.
So we drove across the causeway to the island, the day was absolutely perfect blue, clear skies to the mountains on all sides, and the temperature was actually one of the warmest it had been for weeks, which was good because we forgot our jackets completely, including kid jackets. I know. I win mom of the year award for that one, hehe. Quinn was very happy to carry his own backpack, water bottle, and snacks all together, and he was excited to be out in a place where he could jump on rocks and run down trails. The dog was timid at first but excited as well, the joy of being outside with new smells and scenery was almost overwhelming for our little puppy, and she had to learn to listen while walking on leash all over again.
While walking the first little way I realized that the simple trail I had picked out, named the Lake Side Trail Loop at the north west side of the island, was heavily used by the Buffalo as well. I knew there were bison there from when Brigham Young had placed a herd there, I just didn't realize how free roaming they were, or how populated the island was with them. We had to keep a close eye around the trail's turns and hills, and an even closer eye on Quinn to make sure he didn't run off ahead of us or around any large rock outcroppings. A few times we came around a corner and found a bison not thirty feet from the trail, staring us down. Even at the very end of the 4.8 mile hike there was one point at which we had to leave the trail and give another feeding bison a large buffer. It was about ten feet from where we had to walk and I decided I wasn't in good enough shape to run at 40 mph for any length of time. That's how fast they charge after all.
As we made our loop around the west side of the trail's loop there were some fantastic views out over the water and down to some of the beaches. It was hard not to take pictures constantly, especially when we let Perrin out about halfway down the trail and he just started hustling, running down the trail as fast as he could without biffing it. He made it for a while on his little baby legs, but eventually just flopped down time and time again, not crying of complaining, his stubby legs would just give up every five or six steps and we decided to stick him back in the pack.
Quinn really surprised me on the hike! I was expecting to have to turn around after a mile or two, but Quinn didn't complain until the very last quarter mile. I was really proud of him, almost five miles carrying his own pack and everything! For a five year old I think that's great! We only stopped twice to drink some water and the kids ate lunch in the car on the way back.
One of my favorite parts of the hike was actually how the sunlight seemed to make some of the bushes glow. The fluff from the seeds was so thick that the light shining through them became so soft, giving the bushes halos everywhere. I'm more of a deep dark woods and alpine terrain girl, but the sage and prairie was lovely that day.
Tim and I are considering getting a yearly pass just because the park is so close and we can practice hiking there in the afternoons, as well as snowshoeing. I don't think I would go running there though, just because of the number of large aggressive buffalo, but maybe in some of the rougher trails, or if you get up there in elevation they might dither out a bit in numbers, making it not as much a risk.
You know, it's kind of funny, I'm not so sure there are any antelope on Antelope Island, but we did see a lot of Bison! I'll have to do some research and see if there are any antelope left.
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