Except they weren't really looking for a snowshoe trip for National Trails Day. (And yes, it's a real holiday. Sort of.) So we went to Serene Lake. It's a great walk in the woods that goes to both Bridal Veil Falls and Serene Lake. Either would be a destination worth of the seven mile hike by themselves, but put them together and it's awesome.

It's been almost 10 years since I was last there so in spite of the long drive to get there by 9am I was eager to go. The rest of the family was a little less enthusiastic at 6am. Amy hit the snooze button. Clara rolled over and grumbled. Henry and Lilly are both early birds so they stretched and headed downstairs, but then they turned on the TV. Only Treen was bouncing up and down and ready to go.

At the trailhead we met up with the rest of the snowshoers without snowshoes. There were 13 of us decked out in red t-shirts, but only two actual Tubbs employees and one other Ambassador. My biggest concern was the kids keeping up with the longer legs of the adults.

We had no problems keeping up on the way to Bridal Veil Falls. The kids embedded themselves in the group and hiked with the adults. I'd rather they have hiked with me so they weren't bugging the others, but it seemed to go well. At the falls they did their best to entertain and pose for pictures. My shots pale in comparison to the pictures Tori, one of the Tubbs employees took. She captured their... um... special personalities.

From the falls we had to descend back to the main trail and start climbing again. This was the real test. Clara and Henry had no problem sticking with the group, but Lilly was lagging. She drank and ate, but just wasn't feeling it. Even after I realized she was wearing both her normal hiking shirt and her Tubbs shirt (and stripped off one of them) she was still awfully warm.

I've been very lucky to meet and adventure with people that are kind and generous when it comes to the kids. While I worked with Lilly, the rest of the party didn't object to hiking with Clara and Henry. Kelsey, Tubbs' Marketing Manager, worked with me and Clara at this year's Romp to Stomp and gave us a tour of the Tubbs HQ so she knew what she was getting into when she invited us, but I bet she didn't anticipate listening to Clara and Henry all the way up to the lake.

Lilly found her second wind when we broke out of the trees and poured it on all the way to the lake. Maybe it was the sunshine or the cool breeze coming off the water. Or it was the promise of the Pringles in my pack. Either way, she was back in action.

At the lake I found Clara and Henry were sitting and chatting with the others just like old friends. Hiking has a way of doing that. Spend a couple of hours sweating on a trail and suddenly you're not shy anymore. Treen finally got to go free in the lake, which still had snow melting into it. Needless to say, no humans dared enter it except one crazy guy that probably needed CPR afterward.

Of course, it wasn't just a hike to a waterfall and a lake. Towering above the lake was Mt. Index. The peak rises 3,000 feet straight from the lake. Needless to say, it was out of reach for this day, but perhaps we'll tackle it from the other side some day in the future.

While our hike up wasn't too crowded, the hike down was a different matter entirely. Hiking down is usually faster than hiking up, but not on National Trails Day. Since the uphill hiker has the right of way we were frequently sidelined on the narrow trail.

For every group we passed, we greeted them with a hearty, "Happy National Trails Day!" This elicited several different responses.

"Happy National Trails Day to you, too!" These folks were of a similar mind. These are my people.

"Oh, that's why everyone is here today." (Cheerfully.) Surprised there was such a holiday, but ok with it. They'll be celebrating next year.

"Oh, that's why everyone is here today." (Grumpily.) Annoyed that there is such a holiday. They'll remember this date and avoid it next year. We need to work on them.

Grumble grumble. "Dang whippersnappers. This is my trail. Get out of my way." Yes, there really were a couple of these folks. They looked like they were in serious distress. My advice to them when they see more than two cars at the trailhead: Find somewhere else to hike. You're not going to have fun and you're impacting everyone else's experience.

What I liked most about heading down is that my kids continued hanging out with the rest of the group and the group welcomed them. Most of the other hikers were in their twenties (I was the old man in the group and Amy and I could have been the parents of a couple of them ) so the kids identified more with them as friends than us. Henry was taught the phrase "It's on like Donkey Kong," but nothing worse. (As a child of the 70s and 80s, I passed on my cultural wisdom by telling everyone they needed to watch the classic Better Off Dead.)

We wrapped up the trip at Zeke's Drive-In, which is a definite must for any hike up Highway 2. For an inaugural National Trails Day hike hosted by a snowshoe company, it went brilliantly. I'm sure next year will also be great and maybe not limited to Tubbs' backyard.