First of all, I think I should say, "It was worth it!"
I mean, just look at us. We're having so much fun in that awesome mine. Patsy's Mine was so nice and cool inside...and by cool I mean in the way of temperature and experience. Definitely one of the best end results of our Saturday hikes that we have had.
But getting there...now that was a different story. Yikes!
I found this little gem of a hike on pinterest. The pin lead me to this blog. The blog is a fun one! But I think I should have done a little more research beforehand. She said it was a short hike and 'kid doable'. I'm not sure 'kid doable' meant a 1 1/2 year old and a 4 year old(although she had a couple of those with her). She did say it would be hot, man was it hot!
We made the mistake of starting late. We fed the horses on Saturday and also we've been doing the Lowe's Build 'n' Grow projects every other Saturday. It set us back a little. The girl's got to build the Hulk's tank, which they loved, so it was definitely worth the late start. Luckily we had lots of water because we went through all of it.
The hike was about .7 miles with an optional extra .25/.5 miles depending if you parked on the dirt road or not. Our intentions were to not hike the optional part but when we got to the dirt road it was fenced off. We were involuntarily coerced to hike the "optional" part.
This lovely hike seemed a lot longer than .7 miles, plus optional .25/.5 miles and was pretty much straight up. Once we got home and took baths and naps, I did a little more research and found out that there are different ways to get to the mine. You can zig-zag your way up switchbacks or you can head straight up the mountain, which is steep and not recommended. I wonder if it would be recommended if you had a 1 1/2 yr old or a 4 yr old on your shoulders because I'm pretty sure we picked the latter of the two options.
The majority of the time, the cute hiking girls were on our shoulders. There were a few places the trail evened out and the girls could walk.
It was hot and hard and long but we made it. Barely. I'd be lying if I said we didn't contemplate turning around, but we didn't and it was worth it!
We were relieved to make it to the mine. It felt so nice inside after baking on the side of the mountain for an hour. We couldn't wait to explore. The girls busted out their flashlights and ran right in.
It was dark
and wet. So bring flashlights and shoes that you don't care if they get muddy because they will. There were puddles throughout and a deep one at the end of the tunnel.
There are different rooms off the main tunnel and we had fun running through them.
I little fun fact about me is that I'm a little claustrophobic but I definitely didn't want a little claustrophobia to stop me from enjoying this adventure so with visions of walls closing in on me and ceilings caving in on me I hiked on. I tried not to picture myself trapped inside. But poor little Evie must have had those same images in that blonde little head of hers. We explored 3 rooms and then she got really nervous and so I volunteered to take her back to the entrance while Chris and Nory explored some more.
It was pretty wild. We couldn't see or hear Chris and Nory until they were pretty close. Nory came running out of the cave like a shot yelling, "I have to go to the bathroom" She jumped into some leaves and pulled her pants down and unfortunately she forgot to squat, throughouly soaking her shorts. Luckily for me Chris was the one that packed her on his shoulders on the tricky, steep parts of the trail. After exploring the mine, we enjoyed some snacks and the view before heading back down.
The hike went much faster on the way down. It was a lot easier and the girls were able to hike more than they had on the way up. When we got to the car we were exhausted and covered in dirt. Everly fell asleep almost immediately. The girls did so good so we decided to stop for ice cream and Slurpee's on the way home.
If you want instructions on how to get to Patsy's Mine in Farmington, look them up because I don't want to be responsible for you rolling down the hill or getting you lost before you even start the hike :)
*Do a little research beforehand
*Bring a flashlight, sunscreen and a lot of water
*Wear shoes you don't mind getting muddy
*There are no bathrooms so if you happen to be doing the "gallon of water a day" challenge like I happen to be doing, you might have to mark you territory on the way up the trail.
Happy Trails!
