Category Archives: Hiking

Hiking, Parks

Itasca State Park, MN

1 Comment

While on vacation a little while ago (okay a month, I am taking a really long time to put up post), my husband and I went up to Itasca State Park in Minnesota.

This was an awesome trip because:

1. We were only a little over an hour away.

2. My Mother in-law watched my two little rascals!

We were ALONE! YAY!

I missed them.

I am kind of nutty like that.

In case you did not know (I did not until I married my husband), the headwaters of the Mississippi is located in the Itasca State Park.

It is a tradition to walk across the headwaters so you can say you walked across the Mississippi, I did not.

My husband tried to get me to but I had just seen a lady wipeout and I did not want to be next.

If I had brought the boys with me I would have done it.

They give me courage.

And a reason to look foolish.

I should have done it.

It was misting the whole time we walked out to the headwaters which was nice because it was a little warm, it makes for nice saturated pics,

and it kept the mosquito count in the millions instead of trillions.

They really love me too.

It is no doubt because of my sweet personality.

This was on the floor of the building that gives a little history of the area.

I love it.

I want one.

My darling husband would make it for me, right?

Right?

This is an old fire watchtower.

When I saw it I gulped because of the stairs.

All of those stairs…

My mind and body protested because they still remembered this hike I had put them through the week before.

“No more climbing” my poor legs said.

Or was that Nick?

In all of my thinking about the stairs and the climb I forgot something rather important.

I am afraid of heights…

Something one should take into consideration before climbing to the top of a 100ft tower.

In the rain.

I am pretty stubborn though so I kept climbing, albeit with a death grip on the railing.

Such a pretty view.

It had really started to rain so we made our way down.

Harder then going up but I made it.

Or did I?

It started to POUR.

I do not mean a refreshing little rain.

I mean barely talk it is going to wash me away rain.

So I started doing what this type of rain always does to me.

Laughing.

Twirling.

Laughing some more.

Not light sweet laughter but from the gut I have lost it laughter.

I felt about eight years old and looked like it.

My husband has not seen this side of me that often and was giving me odd looks from a distance.

I did not care, it made me laugh even more.

Rain just has this power over me to make me want to sing and dance and play.

I was drenched and so happy.

I have stopped laughing now so you do not have to worry.

Visit the park if you are in the area and laugh once for me.

 

 

Camping, Hiking

Mountain Crest Trail ~Appalachian Mts.

3 Comments

I took this when I was feeling energetic and optimistic…

Neither of those things lasted long.

How did I keep going?

Willpower.

I will conquer!

And when that ran out I had no choice but to keep going.

There was no short cut.

 

We took the Woody Ridge Trail to the Mountain Crest Trail north of Ashville, SC.

We camped at Deep Gap for one night then went back.

The Woody Ridge Trail starts out at around 3000ft elevation and ends at over 6000ft.

It does this in around 3miles.

Yes, that hurts.

We were puffing and hiking along when a woman passes us.

These are the words she says, “it gets REALLY steep in a little bit but it does not last long”.

Things going through my head:

“this is not steep?”

and later

“we have very different definitions of does not last long!”

The “really steep” part last for a mile.

We did finally make it to the top.

Then we proceeded to go down and up a couple of peaks on the Mountain Crest Trail for 2.7 miles.

That is what the topo map said at least. Our GPS kept giving different distance then the map.

Anyone else have that problem?

Up 1000ft.

Down 1000ft.

Up.

Down.

You see the trail, right?

It is straight down.

I was cheering/laughing as he made his way though this one.

I enjoyed the break at least.

“Come on baby you can do it! Take your time though…”

A nice flat trail really.

You could have brought your children in a stroller.

The Deep Gap campsite(just a flat place to put a tent) is right before the peak with two humps.

I am glad I did not know that on the way there.

I might have turned back.

I was really trying to be optimistic still.

It was survival instincts no doubt.

We did finally make it and one of the first things we had to do was find water.

I had read about this trip on backpacker.com so I knew that we would need something to treat water because there was only a spring.

The other hikers are awesome, as soon as they saw us come into “camp” they asked if we knew where to find the water and directed us.

It is a spring that is marked with red flags about 1/2 mile south of camp.

If you camp farther south(the camping area is spread out), there is a road that leads down to it as well.

We bought the Chlorine tablets so we filled up the bottles and had to wait 4hrs before drinking.

We hung out at camp looking at clouds and sometimes talking (talking takes a lot of energy).

At least my kind does.

We were also eating this.

This is what we ate for 7 meals.

May I never see another slim jim.

We (I) bought a cheap scout tent since it was so light and did I mention CHEAP?

It was a really tight fit though!

We could not even stretch all the way out but it worked and it was…cheap.

I was not sure when or if we would do another overnight hike so investing hundreds of dollars in gear was not going to happen.

Sunset in the mts. does not get much better.

“And everything was still. Absolutely still.”

Okay, I may have been reading a little too much Magic Tree House to my kids.

 

We got up early the next morning to head back to our car.

The original plan was to try to hike to the top of Mount Mitchell but it was still several peaks and miles away.

I wrecked my knees on the first hike and spent most of the night in pain so we did not want to risk it.

Sunrise in the mountains makes it a lot easier to get out of bed.

And this just makes it all worth it.

What better way to celebrate 7yrs together then to push yourselves to your breaking point and then keep on going.

 

 

 

Hiking, Kid Friendly Hikes

Is it worth it?

5 Comments

There is whinning, complaining, tantrums, and tears but there is also, joy, triumph, wonder, appreciation, and a sense of accomplishment.

Some people think hiking with young kids is too much work.

For you and them.

Maybe you are right.

No one wants to cause there child discomfort, right?

If they are never pushed they will never learn they can fail, right?

Is it worth it?

Is it worth pushing a tired child to do more then they think they are capable of?

Are the tears worth the joy and wonder in their eyes when they see the world in a whole new way?

For me the answer is yes.

The first time we took our oldest out on a hike he was less then a month old. It was a short one, I just held him in my arms for most of it instead of using a pack.

Now he is four years old and hiking a mile is as easy as breathing. He loves to climb, he loves the woods and he does not see it as a chore.

He enjoys it!

The thing that changed my way of thinking about children hiking was my son. I was watching this crazy ball of energy, flinging himself around the house. Running constantly, jumping, and playing. Why can that same child not hike for a mile?

Or more…

That being said I want to share a couple tips that I have picked up along the way to make your hike (and life) easier.

1. If you will be carrying, buy a GOOD pack.

If it is a front pack it needs lots of good support and needs to be adjusted properly. Children over 20 pounds should not be in a front pack. It will hurt your back.

Once your child is able to sit up, they can go in a backpack carrier. While I do not have a certain brand of front carrier I would say you have to buy, I do have a preference for backpacks.

I LOVE Kelty child carriers. They are fully adjustable, the companies customer service is amazing and if there is any problem they fix it. I bought both of my packs for my boys used online (one from ebay and one from craigslist). When I found out one had been recalled I contacted the company and they sent me the fix. When one of my packs broke I mailed it to kelty and they sent me a brand new one!

From that day on, I have been sharing will all of my hiking mom’s how much I love Kelty. You can buy another brand if you want but check this option out first.

2. Bring plenty of water, snacks, and…DIAPERS! You do not want that child on your back (and right next to your ear) screaming all the way back to the car because they are uncomfortable. Bring a plastic bag to put it in also! You do not want to smell that the whole hike and you do not want to put that on the ground…

Not that you would do that, right?

3. If child is in a pack bring a toy for them to play with. I found those little plastic links that they can chew on are excellent for hooking toys with loops on your pack. You do not want to have to keep picking that toy up off the ground. Very annoying.

4. Clothing is important!

Long sleeves and pants are always a good option as long as it is not too hot. You do not want your little one to be eaten up by bugs.

If in the pack, pants and shirts need to be as soft and comfortable as possible. Think about wearing a harness for bungee jumping for hours and see if jeans were your best choice. Long socks pulled up high so when his pants ride up in the pack his little legs are not exposed to bugs or passing branches. We did not put shoes on the boys before they were walking because they would just kick them off. Once they are walking age and they need shoes for those walking breaks (they need breaks in the pack or it will become uncomfortable) make sure they are nice and sturdy and HARD TO GET OFF!

Searching for shoes in the woods is not my idea of a good time!

5. Patience

It takes time for children to figure out that they are okay riding in a pack for long periods of time or that they can walk more then the couple feet to the car. Don’t give up because of tantrums or whinning. They can do it. Show them you believe in them by encouraging them to push themselves.

My boys both hike now (they are 3 and 4) and one of my favorite things to say to them when they say their legs hurt is, “it is good that your legs hurt, they are getting stronger”.

I also use a goal like, “when you are strong enough we can hike overnight” they love to camp out.

Reward the good behavior but do not stop for the bad! They can do it!

And so can you!