Day 5
At Brooks Lake Lodge there are a number of activities, and you choose one in the morning and one in the afternoon (of course, you are not required to choose an activity). The activities are hiking, canoeing, archery, horseback riding, and fly fishing. There is also a small but lovely spa. You sign up the night before for your activities, and BLL staff then accompany you and help with everything.
One of my initial questions was whether we would have to stay with our kids the whole time or if we could separate for activities (in other words, was I going to be doing archery for 2 days straight?!?!). And the answer is sort of yes. Each kid needs an adult (not an ABD guide or BLL staff) who is responsible for them at each activity. But our group ended up being so tight-knit by this point that we were all trading kids. So, for example, another family took one of my boys to do archery, and I took another girl to do horseback riding. I don't think this would be the case with all kids or all groups.
On hiking: there are several different hikes. The hardest is up Brooks Mountain, and our group was gunning for the challenge. Of the 30 of us, 17 of us wanted to do it. If you want to do this hike (do it! do it!) you need to know ahead of time and let the guides know, because it's the one BLL activity that takes some planning ahead by their staff.
Back to the day:
Breakfast is at 8:00 (though coffee is set out earlier, and we also had a coffee pot in our room) and was pretty good. It's a buffet every day. Most activities start at 9:30, but for those of us hiking Brooks Mountain, we needed to leave at 8:30 because it's about a 4.5 - 5 hour outing (including driving to the trail head). I left my 9 year old behind to go horseback riding, because it really would have been too hard for him. Our 12 year old did it and he did fine - he and the other 2 boys (ages 13 and 15) led the entire time. BLL sent 4 guides with us, all with backpacks of water so you didn't have to carry your own backpack although most people did have a small pack with them (packing tip - I think that's worth bringing). I also recommend that you grab some snacks from the Disney snack box, because you will need to replenish your blood sugar during the climb!
The hike was great. DH and I have done some hard hikes, but this was the hardest I have ever done. It was stunningly gorgeous. It is 5 miles round trip, and took our group 3 hours and 45 minutes. Of course, a big group like ours will take longer than a smaller group, so do keep that in mind. The BLL guides were amazing. They had one assigned just to keep up with the boys at the front and keep them from wandering off. They had another assigned to be the very last person, so no one got inadvertently left behind. And the other two just bounced around offering water and encouragement. I really can't say enough good things about the BLL staff. Here are some pictures from the hike.
We hiked so high there was snow and the kids threw snowballs
The view from the top:
Looking down onto Brooks Lake Lodge:
And for perspective, this is a picture of Brooks Mountain, taken from Brooks Lake Lodge property. Of course we hiked up the otherside, but got to that very top. You can see how high it is. Elevation is 11,000 feet. I don't think any of us had a problem with the altitude by that point.
After the hike we returned to BLL for an excellent buffet lunch with sandwiches, homemade chips, soup, salad...delicious.
That afternoon I had the foresight to book myself a massage as my afternoon activity. Spa services are an extra charge, and there's pretty wide availability. I am not exaggerating, it was the best massage I've ever had, and I've had my fair share. She was excellent, and exactly what my tired legs needed!
DH went fly fishing, and the boys did archery.
That afternoon around 5pm folks gathered on the lawn. BLL sets out afternoon tea at 4:30 with cheese, crackers, cookies, fruit, hot tea, and lemonade. It's so lovely. Adults got their drinks, and we sat in the sun and watched while the guides organized games for the kids. It was heavenly.
Dinner is served at 6:30 (?I think), and after dinner the guides took the kids to watch a movie. Adults lingered in the lobby/bar area, and did some stargazing. One of the dads in our group was really knowledgeable about astronomy, and fascinating to listen to. The movie wrapped up just before 10 and we all stumbled into bed. It was a great, great day.