Weekday Hikes

After our last trip, we've been making a concerted effort to get our (my) stamina back to something reasonable. We've added a weekday training hike. Often with packs, but not when its stupid hot or when we're all exhausted.

An exhausted hike looks like: I'm not the only one tying my shoes partway in for once!




And a lengthy stop at the lake to poke in the mud and admire the sunset.




We're also running out of daylight after we get home from work. Soon our weekday hikes will have to be around the neighborhood. Which is completely flat. 

But even that's better than I could manage a year ago.


What sort of training or "training" do you do as a family? 

Secret Trail Markings

Boo started school this year, and it's been a big adjustment. We really cut down our after-work hikes with her, because she was so tired and cranky. But on Labor Day, even though she was still out of sorts, we dragged her to the trail. And we woke her up gently (she hasn't fallen asleep in the car for ages!) After we poked some food into her, she perked back up. We took a hilly, 2.5 mile hike. And it really perked her up. She was the happiest she's been since school started. Well, lesson learned right there. Back to the woods even if she doesn't want to and would rather play with her friends.

When she wasn't running, she was making "secret trail markings". She wouldn't tell us what they were.



Of note in the pic: whistle on a break-away cord, camera, temporary tattoo, and a stick.

Then her sandals gave her blisters, she she spent the second half of the hike running barefoot up hills.

Do you kids do better for being outside, even when it seems counter-intuitive?

North Carolina Day Hiking

June30 – July 6, 2013

We spent a week with a friend’s parents near Brevard, NC. In addition to our flooded-out overnight, we spent most of the weekend tramping around the mountains and having a good time.




This is the view off the back porch. Sometimes you can see a lot more mountains, but not the week we were there.



This butterfly loooved my sock, kept coming back despite repeatedly being looked at by the kids.



Boo tied my sunglasses to my hat so I wouldn't lose them.



We found some free-range (feral?) blueberries.



Even though it was the first weekend in July, it was rainy and cool most of the time. This was the only time we waded, and we weren't in the water for long.




We took time for compass practice. She can consistently get the compass flat enough to work, and is getting better at remembering that the red end (as opposed to the white end) is north.




She found a lot of hiking sticks. This one had some serious moss growing on it.



Boo spotted this tiny newt on the trail. I'd seen it and dismissed it as a leaf bit. The kids were enthralled, and appropriately respectful.

We saw a lot of waterfalls, a lot of overlooks. We got very wet. We once covered the entire deck with drying gear. We ate a lot of smashed sammiches. The girls went to a Woodsy Owl program on the 4th.

Do you plan your vacations around being outdoors, or do you just squeeze some in if you can, or do you leave vacations for being lazy?

Exploring a San Diego Canyon

We recently visited my sister, brother-in-law, and baby nephew in San Diego, CA.  We went to see the baby and visit, not to disappear into the wilderness, but we did manage a couple excursions. 

Their house abuts a canyon. Not a big one, just enough to make some roads not go through. But it’s a very different natural area than we are generally accustomed to. Boo was barely 4 when we last visited, and doesn’t remember the canyon. So once morning, we scrounged up some socks (and I borrowed my brother-in-law’s shoes), and went exploring.

She loved scrambling around with no need to stay on a defined trail. This tree she thought would make an awesome house.



There were all sorts of exciting found items. Like beer bottles. Which are great for digging for buried treasure.


We do have cacti in Illinois, but it's short, sickly looking stuff (the ones I've seen). This is a little different.

How much outdoor time do you get on family trips?

Saturday Hike

Saturday, May 18, 2013

With Lee out of town, Boo and I took a picnic lunch to the observation deck at the far end of one of our local trails. This has been a favorite destination since she started toddling along for some of our hikes. 

She planned and made our lunches (PB&J, squeezy apple sauce, and a piece of candy) while I had my coffee. 

She has a tiny compass on her pack. It’s more of a toy than anything, but it points north-ish, and is a lot more accurate than I was expecting. She has gotten to the point where she can look at the compass and point north, and then figure out which was the trail is going next, even if it’s not the direction she’s looking. 

The last time we took a longer hike here, there were still several trees down across the trail from the flooding. This trail, however, was clear, which was a disappointment to her. She likes to climb over obstacles. She found a tree very close to the path and climbed over it.

Then we hit the creek.

And the bridge was gone. 

And Sometimes, there are Grandmas

 My mom and her friend came down for Boo’s tumbling recital. She got a lot of swimming and spoiling in.

Our hike Sunday was limited by lunch reservations, guests from even flatter land than we’re in, and seriously sleeping in.

It didn’t mean we didn’t have fun, find cool things, and flap our wings back to the trailhead.

How was your weekend?

Good Friday Hike

We had Friday off. What better way to fill it than taking a nice long hike? Boo has been agitating to hike “to the freeway” for months, and we haven’t had enough daylight or good weather at the same time. Friday… it looked good. Weather was sunny, warming up quickly after dawn, and it’s been dry enough most of the mud is walkable. 

Lee made calzones first thing in the morning, then wrapped them up in a towel to keep warm. I packed our big bags with what was to hand.

There were a number of trees across the trail to clamber over. Lots of hickory husks to collect. Plentiful benches for rests and snacks. We found a dead small mammal (mole?) that was very interesting. While most of the trail was dry enough, there were a couple places Boo almost lost her shoes.

Lee heard squirrel sound, “Wow, guys look!” There was a hawk chasing a squirrel! It swooped and missed a few times, the squirrel ran even faster than they usually do, ran over a bump, hawk disappeared behind the bump, brief kurfluffle, and silence. Wow.

Boo was thrilled when we first could see the freeway. She was even more excited when we dropped down and saw the new tunnel under the freeway. We were expecting her to look into the tunnel and be done with it. But she really wanted to go through. OK then. She held Lee’s hand the whole way through, and almost lost her shoes in the mud at the far end. 

After the tunnel is a bridge, and that’s where the trail currently ends. So we ate our lunch. The calzones were still warm, and oh my gosh they were good. Oranges, raisins, and Sweet Tarts finished the meal. 

As Lee and I put our packs back on, Boo was already halfway back to the tunnel. This time she bopped through without a hand. 

Funny thing about spring hikes. It’s sunny and warm, but there’s no leaves on the trees! Poor Boo was so desperate for shade she crawled under a bench at one stop, and eventually ended up wearing Lee’s hat. 

The trail had softened up during the day, and walking down the north sides of the hills was slippery slidey. Boo ended up falling a few times. 

Another hiker passed us as Boo was flagging. She perked right up and started running. So another motivator for my kiddo is a friendly stranger. Who doesn’t mind getting their ear talked off…. 

We did four miles in about 4 hours. Boo was tuckered out, but after an hour of quiet time at home, she played outside and rode her bike until dinner, so we could have gotten another mile or two out of her with judicious breaks and feeding.

What is your favorite and least favorite part of spring hiking?

Tuesday Trails

In addition to trying to get into condition for summer hikes (made harder by alternating sleet and mud), we  have added a weekly "observation hike". Every Tuesday afternoon, we head to a specific 1/2 mile trail and pay attention. The idea is to slow down, see how one place changes week to week, and use our senses as much as we can. Then we come home and write about it in journals.

We have a couple locations where we take a picture every week. For instance, here's the prairie.

Week 1:


Week 2:


Week 3:


It's a lot harder to beg off because the weather isn't perfect, or we had a rough day at work. We're paying attention to the general sounds of birds, and we see a lot more animal tracks.

Once the weather starts being less wet, we're going to bring the journals with us. 



All the Tuesday Trails pics

Nature-Full Hike

Saturday, March 2, 2013.

The Plan had been a morning hike for all three of us. Lee got a migraine, so Boo and I got to the park at lunch time. We ambushed S, a favorite naturalist, for a picnic on the floor, and Boo asked if she would join us on our hike. “Well, I need to work. But I can hike with you a little bit.” Picnic was cleaned up, and it was arranged. 

Just outside the door, Boo picked up a stick and handed it to S. “What kind of stick it is? I think maple. See how the twigs come out across from each other?”

Slightly farther out, we came across a melted oval just next to the path. S told me it looked like a deer bed, and I called Boo back to ask what she thought. She didn’t know, but after looking for what could have made it melt, she decided it was a deer sleeping there. Why a deer? From the size. I then pointed out the deer prints and scat around the area. 

We’d barely started walking when we saw a fallen wasp next in the snow. S poked carefully with a stick, though she assured me that she’s never seen wasps around the nest in the summer, and any there would be lethargic from the cold. That reassured me as Boo ripped into it with her hands. “What would wasps do to us?” S explained how stings hurt. Not more than being bitten by the snake, but still not fun. (I love how she just demystified being bitten by a snake into something that happens if you handle snakes enough. Not fun, but not a huge deal.)

Boo was running ahead, and S and I were commenting on how we don’t usually see so many interesting things on such a short hike, when Boo shouted back, “I found scat!!!” And so she had. Not deer or rabbit. Not coyote. Not turkey. We poked it apart with a stick and noticed there was some fur, it folded around on itself quite a bit, and there was a long string folded over on one end. Still no idea. Took a picture and made a mental note to check a field guide. After consulting 2 guides, our tentative ID is some sort of weasel.

At the end of the Prairie Path is a mown grassy area. Somebody had made some snowmen. We discussed why their stick eyes had melted long furrows into the faces. Then Boo tackled the smaller one to the ground. 

Then S had to leave us to go back to work. Boo and I decided it was snack time. I saw three benches from where we were standing. “Boo, where is a good place to eat our snack?” She looked around, deep in thought. “Right here by the side of the path.” And so we did.

 How was your weekend?

Owl Pellet

Boo and I were trying for the end of the trail. We’d had a hot lunch at an overlook, and thrown things over three bridges when I noticed what looked like a funny colored mushroom.

Then I looked a little closer.




 “Hey Boo, come back here!”

 “What’s that?”

“An owl pellet!”

We discussed what that meant. We poked it apart and looked at the tiny bones. We looked around for more pellets.



It was pretty cool.

 What’s the neatest thing you’ve found hiking?

Map Lesson 1

“Boo, do you like hiking new places, places you’ve already been, or some of each?” Standard driving after work/daycare conversation.

“Places I’ve been.” Firmly.

Well, that explains why she’s so resistant to new places to hike…

“Why?”

“I like to know where I’m going.” 

Hmmm….

“You know, Mommy and I use maps so we know where we are going in new places. Would you like to learn to use a map?”

“Yes!!!!!”

So off we went to Forest Park. We picked up a map. We discussed which route we would take and traced it on the map. She took the crayon and the map, and we were off. 

She marked the map at the trailhead.

“I see the bridge!”

“Where are the stairs? Are the stairs on here? Why not? What about the big hill?”

When we reached the top of the hill, we stopped at a bench and found ourselves on the map. She traced the trail from start to where we were. Well, somewhat past… Actually, past enough that she covered up the next landmark… 

At the next bench, she located us past the intersection and wouldn’t accept my correcting. 

Not shown: me running up and down the hills after her in my work clothes

Then she found too many pretty leaves to hold with her map, so I got the map and crayon and the lesson was over. 

She was so proud of herself, and we’ve got a good start on having her be happy to try new trails. 

Lessons Learned:

The trail we followed took up a very small section of the map, which made it hard for her to follow along.

Forest Park maps are not at all straightforward or intuitive. 

Black crayons obscure black landmarks.

What do your kids do with maps? When did you learn to read maps?