Hiking With Kids

There are a few things I've learned about hiking with (my) kids.

:: it's much slower
:: you stop a lot
:: you may never get 'there' (and that's OK)
:: they notice stuff you never would

Last summer Stacy didn't really have an interest or the endurance to do much walking. 4 year old legs must be *just enough* longer though, as she's developed a bit of both!

A few weeks ago we tackled one of the 4 main trails in Whittier, Horsetail Falls. We've been up before and we'll go again. It's my favorite trail around here...just wooded enough and I love the way the light comes through the trees!

On this side of the tunnel we also have the Portage Pass Trail, the trail to Second Salmon Run, and a trail that goes up behind the BTI along the waterfall. Today we tackled the Portage Pass trail. Since it is a pass between the mountains, its a lot of uphill walking. We made it 3/4 of the way or so, stopping twice for snacks. It was lots of fun! The girls took some pictures using their own cameras (see Kelsey's here and Stacy's here) and we also did a bit of drawing on the way when we saw some little critters playing on the rocks near us.



Another big hit were the 'treasure' bags--gallon sized ziploc bags that they filled with goodies they found along the way. Don't worry...I didn't let them pick flowers. Mostly twigs, rocks and cones.

And now...we can check another thing off that fun Summer To-Do list!