We moved from the midwest to North Idaho- leaving all of our family behind us. The one thing we did do, was share photos of our adventures with the family back in the Midwest. Uncle Mark would ask about this place we hiked in, and asked for more information on it so he could google it on more than one occasion. In the days before his passing, we talked about the Roman Nose area one more time. I can't help but think about him every time we come back here for an amble up the hill. Our kids were too young to remember meeting him the handful of times they did, but they knew who he was through my stories of him- and the fact that he was interested in their adventures too. This cache was placed in beloved memory of him. The first time we hiked this loop we were out of breath and honestly didn't think we could complete it. We were flatlanders from the Midwest, completely new to the area but wanted to explore. The GeoKids were complaining by 1/4 of the loop that their legs were tired. When we stopped at the top of the trail, that all seemed to go away. We were not ready for the small altitude changes in the least, however. Now that we hike here very regularly, it's a piece of cake for us. It's funny to think of how difficult it was for us in the beginning. If you're not used to climbing uphill, you may need to take it easy!
The views from this location are spectacular. The bumble bees buzzing around are numerous and fun to watch. If you're lucky, they may land on you to get at the salt in your sweat. Relax, sit down and enjoy them. You can find snow off of parts of the trail well into July. The crystal clear lakes here are something you'll never forget. The hike is well worth it. Bring a fishing rod and try your luck at some of the trout here. The lakes were stocked in the 1800's we have heard- and they do not grow very large, but you can definitely can get some eaters! The upper and middle lakes are each an additional 1/2 mile to your hike if you wanted to get to those. You can check out the map down at the parking lot- or do your research ahead of time and climb up to the peak for the ultimate hike. Make sure you bring a bit of water with you, and please be sure to watch the little ones, especially right near the cache location. The trail itself should be kid friendly enough- but this one is not in a safe space for little ones as it's off the trail near the top. We placed this here so that more people would get off of the boardwalk and enjoy the views from up here. If you take the small hike up to this beautiful spot to find our cache and enjoy the views, you won't regret it. The hike is approximately 1.04 miles to the cache if you take the trail to the right. I'll check with my GPS on my next trip up to change the container out for something more permanent.
Make sure you stop in the shady spots and re-hydrate! Enjoy the views! Take it all in!
NOTE: If you have geoKids, please be careful. The cache is not in a completely dangerous location, our seasoned mountain kids can climb down to it, but we do not want excited geocachers to trip or lose their balance. Congratulations to LallaPalooza on FTF!