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?

Scavenger Hunt

I got a new camera, and Boo immediately claimed the old one. 

The next Saturday, instead of hiking, the adults in the house were cleaning up after a horrible pickle juice spill in the refrigerator. Boo was in desperate need of some outside time, but wanted company. I suggested a scavenger hunt. A photography scavenger hunt. She jumped at the idea. 

So I made up a list. Things I could draw, since she’s not quite literate, and both easy and hard for her to find. Easy: green grass, mud puddle, bulbs coming up. Hard: bike, bird, squirrel. She took her list and camera and had a fun almost-hour running around the yard. 

 On hikes, we generally give her one or two interesting things to look for if she gets whiny, but this has potential. And will become easier as she reads more words...

Do you kids carry a camera? 

Have you done scavenger hunt hikes? How did it go? 

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?

"What if We Get Lost Overnight?"

We’ve been training Boo for a couple years now that if she’s lost, she should stay put and blow her whistle. 

Last fall, she started asking what we would do if we got lost. And she was very intrigued about how to shelter overnight with no gear. 

So when we raked the yard, I burrowed us in and we felt how toasty warm it was compared to the chilly air. And of course she noticed that leaves blow away.

Since then, when she starts to get fidgety, we’ve added into the mix “where would you spend the night?” As we walk, we look for sheltered areas. We discuss which side of a fallen log would provide the most shelter. How to keep the leaves from blowing away. How that hollow would be great if there was no rain, but “Never sleep in a hole if it’s going to rain.” 

 This does eventually end with her wanting to try out all these locations, and climb trees off trail, so we have to have another distraction ready. 

Her last words of advice? “Sleep close to where you get lost.”

Do your kids enjoy learning survival stuff?
 

Playing Outside

Running Snowball Fight, a photo by virithos on Flickr.

Boo and I took a little hike while Lee was out of town. There was maybe half an inch of snow on the ground. But it was just enough to scrape together some snowballs.

We ended up having a running snowball fight through this prairie trail. It was awesome.

How do you play outside in the winter?

Motivator: Throwing Things Into Water

All the kids I’ve spent time with love throwing things into water. Rocks, sticks leaves. Ocean, great lake, stream, or puddle. 

It's easy for it to slow you down. “Come on, we need to keep moving!”

Or you can use it to keep them going “Throw 3 more things from this bridge, then let’s see where the next bridge is!”

It helps if you know that the next water is reasonably close. I’ve had luck encouraging her to find good things to throw into the next water. 

I try to camp near water, for a constant source of amusement. 

This works best with a slight change of mentality. Little kids don't understand hike for an hour then take a little break. All they see is you are being a boring adult and passing all the cool stuff. Most of these pauses can be pretty quick if the kid knows she'll get another chance.



What's your go-to trick to keep your kid going?

Watching Fish

Watching Fish, a photo by virithos on Flickr.

This was a little girl tired and wanting to go home. We dragged her out in the sprinkles to see a cave and a spring. (We are cruel and uncaring parents.)

Successful distraction of the day: fish in the river. Aided by my polarized sunglasses when it amused her. It was most fun when she spotted the fish before we did.