So today me and the Ol' family decided to get out and enjoy the weather cause word on the street was that Sunday was suppose to rain. I'm a big fan of the website Alltrails.com, its a great page where you just type in your zip code and it lets you know of trails near you. I have heard many people talk about rattlesnake mountain and how the trail was easy and kid/dog friendly. It even had 3 1/2 stars on the rating. I believe it even has the geo tracking box somewhere on the trail. So we take the drive out to Raymond about 45mins from where we live right now. The trail is located on Rt 85 in Raymond heading towards crescent lake. you will drive by a boat loading area and then about 1/4 mile on your left you will see a field for parking. Small lot only about 4 cars can fit but we just parked on the side of the road no worries. So we start by walking through a field to get to the head of the trail, which is wide and cleared nice scenic woods view, feels like your just taking a nice nature walk. Me and my Daughter picked up leaves that had already fallen and changed color and I tried to gave her my best explanation as to why they are changing color..im sure if she remembers that moment 10 years from now she will know I failed miserably.
So we come to a point in the trail where it turns and goes straight up. I'm like umm ok well it cant be to bad maybe for a little bit then it will level off and we will be fine. Oh no I'm not sure on the actually mileage or kilometers but I'm gonna guess and say it was at least a mile. it was very rocky, lots of branches and very steep. Like steep to the point where we had to grab trees on the side to help pull ourselves up. Ok now you also have to realize we are out of shape. we know this we weren't trying to be mountain climbers.
At one point Our daughter is screaming for her PB&J sandwich laying on a fallen log, my husband who has walked ahead a bit yells down "it just keeps going up do you want to turn back?" Now if we had turned back I would not be writing this...well maybe I would of but I would of seriously made it sound like we were climbing mount Washington. So we took a break and ate lunch on an old log. Once we rested we continued on our way, finally we made it to what we decided to call the "top" it was just a wide open large rock area we could see some of the lake through the trees nothing to wild but it was the first flat area since we started. we sat there and had water and hung out. Livy talked to all the people walking by telling them her life story, her dog's name was Zooey, she thought the trail was very steep, and that we were gonna take naps when we got home. One couple stopped, livy of course asked them as many questions as she could, one being "are you going home?" The young thin athletic looking couple says no we are going to go apple picking. I then reply" oo that sounds fun" ..thinking in my head are freaking kidding me if I don't die on the top of this mountain I'm definitely taking a nap when I get home maybe even in the car.
Then I notice the dad is carrying a 6-9 month old on his back, who we now know is named calvin thanks to liv. I then say "aww you have a baby on your back how was carrying him up?' He then replies "not to bad really.." has he's looking down at me and my husband sweating and stuffing our faces with cheez-its he nods and says "have a good day" and they head on their way. I look at my husband and say " they just huffed it up this mountain with a baby on their backs and instead of collapsing in their cars out of breath they are going to go apple picking, we are walking to the top of this mountain". So we did! The rest of the trail from where we were to the top wasn't that bad not as steep that's for sure and the view was really nice and peaceful. The walk down was a little tough cause it was so steep at one point livy was just holding on to her dads backpack so she wouldn't fall. I was so proud of her for making it up and down the trail on her own it was harder then we had expected and usually she just lays in the middle of the path refusing to move, but she did great this time and I'm glad cause there is no way I was gonna be able to carry her. I'm sure the hike wouldn't be bad if you were in shape and mentally prepared of what's to come.
So today me and the Ol' family decided to get out and enjoy the weather cause word on the street was that Sunday was suppose to rain. I'm a big fan of the website Alltrails.com, its a great page where you just type in your zip code and it lets you know of trails near you. I have heard many people talk about rattlesnake mountain and how the trail was easy and kid/dog friendly. It even had 3 1/2 stars on the rating. I believe it even has the geo tracking box somewhere on the trail. So we take the drive out to Raymond about 45mins from where we live right now. The trail is located on Rt 85 in Raymond heading towards crescent lake. you will drive by a boat loading area and then about 1/4 mile on your left you will see a field for parking. Small lot only about 4 cars can fit but we just parked on the side of the road no worries. So we start by walking through a field to get to the head of the trail, which is wide and cleared nice scenic woods view, feels like your just taking a nice nature walk. Me and my Daughter picked up leaves that had already fallen and changed color and I tried to gave her my best explanation as to why they are changing color..im sure if she remembers that moment 10 years from now she will know I failed miserably. 
So we come to a point in the trail where it turns and goes straight up. I'm like umm ok well it cant be to bad maybe for a little bit then it will level off and we will be fine. Oh no I'm not sure on the actually mileage or kilometers but I'm gonna guess and say it was at least a mile. it was very rocky, lots of branches and very steep. Like steep to the point where we had to grab trees on the side to help pull ourselves up. Ok now you also have to realize we are out of shape. we know this we weren't trying to be mountain climbers. 
At one point Our daughter is screaming for her PB&J sandwich laying on a fallen log, my husband who has walked ahead a bit yells down "it just keeps going up do you want to turn back?" Now if we had turned back I would not be writing this...well maybe I would of but I would of seriously made it sound like we were climbing mount Washington. So we took a break and ate lunch on an old log. Once we rested we continued on our way, finally we made it to what we decided to call the "top" it was just a wide open large rock area we could see some of the lake through the trees nothing to wild but it was the first flat area since we started. we sat there and had water and hung out. Livy talked to all the people walking by telling them her life story, her dog's name was Zooey, she thought the trail was very steep, and that we were gonna take naps when we got home. One couple stopped, livy of course asked them as many questions as she could, one being "are you going home?" The young thin athletic looking couple says no we are going to go apple picking. I then reply" oo that sounds fun" ..thinking in my head are freaking kidding me if I don't die on the top of this mountain I'm definitely taking a nap when I get home maybe even in the car. 
Then I notice the dad is carrying a 6-9 month old on his back, who we now know is named calvin thanks to liv. I then say "aww you have a baby on your back how was carrying him up?' He then replies "not to bad really.." has he's looking down at me and my husband sweating and stuffing our faces with cheez-its he nods and says "have a good day" and they head on their way. I look at my husband and say " they just huffed it up this mountain with a baby on their backs and instead of collapsing in their cars out of breath they are going to go apple picking, we are walking to the top of this mountain". So we did! The rest of the trail from where we were to the top wasn't that bad not as steep that's for sure and the view was really nice and peaceful. The walk down was a little tough cause it was so steep at one point livy was just holding on to her dads backpack so she wouldn't fall. I was so proud of her for making it up and down the trail on her own it was harder then we had expected and usually she just lays in the middle of the path refusing to move, but she did great this time and I'm glad cause there is no way I was gonna be able to carry her. I'm sure the hike wouldn't be bad if you were in shape and mentally prepared of what's to come. 
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