Hiking Metcalf Bottoms

It's been a while since we've been able to coordinate a hike, so I was super excited to be able to get in one decent hike while we were in the Smoky Mountains on vacation. It doesn't help that I'm progressing along in my pregnancy, and hiking just isn't as easy as it normally is,  lol.

Due to scheduling conflicts our trip to the Smokies was a week later than normal. I was a little worried as to what the weather would be like. But, we were blessed with beautiful fall weather. It only rained once and only one day was it terribly cold. 

This is our second time hiking Metcalf Bottoms which starts out by the Little Pigeon River. Our first adventure to this beautiful hiking destination was an epic ordeal to say the least; all on account of NONE of the trails being marked! We ended up carving our own trail at one point and it took us twice as long to get to the schoolhouse, ugh!!

This time we knew where to go, even if the park services did finally put some decent trail markers!!

Y'all this hike is not for the unfit! There are some intense inclines at multiple sections. While I don't consider myself to be the most physically fit person, I'm certainly a fairly active woman and there were moments I was heaving pretty heavily. 

There are two bridges on the trail that consist of a single log and one crudely constructed rail. Yeah talk about a moment of panic when it came to my little ones crossing the bridges.

Praise the Lord none of us fell! Even though the bridges aren't all that high and the creek bed was fairly dismal, I imagine a fall from either of the bridges would leave a mark and be painful!

The trail continues on to the Walker Sister's old homestead, but both times we've been here we've only hiked to the Old Little Green Briar Schoolhouse. Maybe one day we'll actually make it to the homestead.

Perks of being a homeschool family and loving nature, my kiddos can spot little critters from a mile away!

It's hard to believe the last time we were here, little Miss Lydia was in my belly and now she's nearly two and about to be a big sister. Time passes when we blink!

Ahh the beauty of fall was all around us. One of my middle boys spent the entire return hike helping me scavenge for the perfect red leaf. 

After our hike we had a picnic and then the children and daddy went exploring the river. They find it great fun to hop along the rocks, but it never fails that a little one falls in, sigh! Thank goodness no one has ever gotten hurt and the river is shallow.

I think Fall is the perfect time to go hiking. The temperature is mild, the trees are changing, the bugs are minimal, it seems easier to breathe (verses the summer), and on and on I could go. It just always seems our schedule is so full in the fall that hiking gets put to the back burner until after the holidays. I think next year I'm going to have to rectify that and plan a few more hiking adventures in the Fall.

From what I understand there are a plethora of hiking trails in the Smoky Mountains. We've only had the privilege of hiking three different trails and one of them was wayyyyyy tooooo dangerous for my littles bitty ones! Of course sometimes you don't figure that little snippet out until you get on the trail ~ sigh, insert eye roll. I'm hoping to plan to explore some new trails the next time we go. But to be honest, this year it was good to go on a trail we already knew, especially in my very pregnant state, 😂

With Love & Hope,

Jennifer

Hiking with Children

I grew up hiking. I love hiking. I could easily go hiking weekly if not daily. Being in nature calms my spirit. I went years without hiking ~ like 15+ years and never graced the entrance of any trails. But, one day I realized how much I missed hiking and that I really wanted to share the hiking experience with my children. So, I started planning and taking my littles on hiking adventures. 

When hiking you naturally need some gear to safely and comfortably get you and your little crew onto the trails. I'm a minimalist hiker and bring the bare minimum. When planning our hiking excursions I try to make sure we are on heavily trafficked trails that are adequately maintained. I am NOT taking my children on eight hour long hikes, shoot most of the time our hikes our under two hours.

My main reason for keeping our hikes to under two hours is that we currently have several under the age of five. Trust me folks that age bracket can be highly temperamental, especially on the trails, lol. Keeping our hikes short and sweet insures we all get out and back to the van with as minimum meltdowns as possible. But, I have found that the more you get out there, hiking with your kiddos the more they want to do it and the better they get at it; actually wanting to keep going once you get to the 'turn around point'.

I started back hiking when I was pregnant with baby number eight. I didn't want to stop hiking because I was pregnant or had a baby, so I had to make sure I had the necessary gear to enjoy hiking with a baby. For me that's simply one item: my Becco baby carrier. Now I know there are awesome 'hiking baby carriers' available, but this one suits multiple needs and I LOVE it!! When they're teeny tiny I can wear them on my front and as they get older I wear them on my back. It is so comfortable, but most importantly it does not hurt my back!

Ok y'all another must have item for this mama is decent hiking shoes. I'm just going to go ahead and share this ~ I'm highly uncoordinated AND accident prone (insert eye roll and groan!!). Having good quality hiking shoes is a must for this mama. I love my Merrell's. I bought them at an outlet shop a few years ago and they have held up wonderfully. Our children do not have designated hiking shoes, I simply make sure they're wearing good tennis shoes.

Other items I make sure we bring on our hikes include:

First aid kit, diapers, wipes, tissue, cell phone (not always with service but good to have), bug spray, and sun screen tucked into a fanny pack (like this one) that I typically wear. This fanny pack is awesome because you can wear it like a backpack, over your shoulder, or around your waist. There's so much room in it and it's comfortable to wear. Plus I can wear it while I am wearing my babies. It's best to be safe and have the essentials in the event of an emergency.

Two lightweight backpacks (like this one) filled with water for each person and usually a snack. The older children rotate carrying these packs throughout our hikes. These little backpacks have been put through the ringer! I actually love them more than my light weight Osprey (which cost a whole lot more!). They're easily adjustable, packable, and have held up for several years now, being overloaded with the weight of multiple stainless steel water bottles and snacks. AND they're super affordable! I bought enough light weight backpacks for most of my children to tote their own backpack during our hikes, but for now we just bring two and disperse our water bottles and snacks between the two.  

That's it! Nothing overly complicated to getting out into nature and exploring with children, even when they're babies. Of course I must say a small disclaimer ~ be smart, research your hiking destinations, tell someone where you're going, start small, but most importantly don't stop (even when your hiking adventure doesn't go as you had envisioned)! Trust me y'all there have been plenty of hiking excursions I've dragged my kids on that have been a total bust. 

Thankfully, we've only had one time where I was concerned for our safety and that was 100% my fault as we took a wrong turn on some poorly marked trails. But, in that instance I never let the children know I was worried, I just kept encouraging them to keep going, and it ended up being one of our fondest hiking memories. That little hiking adventure gone terribly wrong turned into our longest hike ever, reigning in at three hours! It truly pushed us all to our limits, but we did it, we made it out, and even though that hike didn't go as planned, it made us all better hikers! 

Hiking with children can be done and it doesn't have to be complicated or expensive. Yes, sometimes your children may not want to go (half of mine really do not enjoy hiking), but once I get them to our hiking destination everyone usually has a great time. To me being in nature is like being close with the Lord, our wonderful Creator. It's peaceful, calm, and void of worldly distractions that vie for our attention. Hiking is a perfect way to decompress, relax, regroup, and most importantly connect as a family. 

With Love & Hope,

Jennifer