We had a great time although the weather was a bit windy and chilly! We met at the Cardigan State Park parking lot at 9:30AM.
We started out the trip with too many clothes on. Within a couple minutes, we stopped for a clothing swap-out. Heather and Will were both very talkative and we let them chat on.
About a mile up the trail, we stopped for a short break. Will found a very nice rock to lounge on while we all snacked.
As we approached the summit, the clouds enveloped us. To the adults, we were just sad that we didn't have beautiful views. To the kids, the 25mph winds and fog were akin to hiking up Mt Everest. Raincoats were flapping wildly and everyone had their mittens and hats on tight. They really enjoyed what they perceived as a risky endeavor.
When we got to the summit, they went up the fire tower with Uncle Tim. The other three adults just tried to stay on the side of the building with the best wind block.
Soon, we started down. When we got out of the wind, we stopped and had lunch. Tim had brought the Jetboil, so we had a choice of tomato soup, hot cocoa, tea or chicken cup-o-noodles. It was nice to eat something hot, but the sitting on the cold rocks was counterproductive.
We hiked down from that point in just about 45 minutes. Again, the kids were in high spirits and chatted it up all the way down. Heather found that it's OK to look like a big periwinkle Michelin Man as long as you're warm. She wore Uncle Tim's down vest under her Gore-Tex for the trip down. When we arrived back at the parking lot, we were surprised how warm it was there.
Overall, the kids had more fun in the wind and fog than they would have had with great views. The rain started later that afternoon, but we were all safe and sound by then.