If you hang around this blog for any length of time you'll quickly catch on that I LOVE traditions. I absolutely love planning for them and looking forward to them coming around each year. One of our back to homeschool traditions is to go on a celebratory hike concluding our first week. For many years we went to Mount Cheaha State Park. But after they upped the entrance fee from $10 a car load to $8 PER PERSON we quit going there.
On a trip back from the beach three years ago I discovered Lake Howard. Which happens to be an amazing off-the-beaten path boating and hiking destination. It's actually a dirt bike trail, but plenty of folks hike there and in three years of hiking at Lake Howard, I've only seen one person riding a bike on the trail. It takes about an hour to get there from where we currently live, but since it's free, it's totally worth it to me!
I think it's so fun to take the same pictures year after year and watch our family grow. This particular hike was just me and the eight younger children as my husband and oldest had to work.
I must be honest half my children do not enjoy hiking. But, they typically admit to having fun after we venture into the woods. I always have at least one kiddo who is thrilled to be on the hike. You know that one who wants to walk right beside me, volunteer for a dozen pictures and even slips their hand into mine as we hike along the trail. It really makes all the extra work, dragging eight children out the house and into the woods totally worth it!
I'm a huge proponent of baby wearing. There's so many styles to choose from these days, that it's super easy to find a brand and style the suits your needs. My favorite is the Beco Baby Carrier. I've worn my current carrier with four different babies to great extents. It was worth every penny and then some. I couldn't do half the stuff I do with a baby in tow without a baby carrier, especially hiking. My bigger boys and my husband have even worn this baby carrier. And I've yet to have a baby that didn't love riding on my back (or front).
The Lake Howard trails are wonderfully maintained and accurately marked ~ which is not always the case with many of the trails we've been on over the years. Of course, my children love to venture off the path for a little exploring, but even then the brush is adequately cleared.
I must give a disclaimer though in regards to the Lake Howard trails, on a scale of 1-10 (one being the easiest and 10 being the hardest), I'd rank them at around a 7. This would especially be in regards to the main trail. There are some intense inclines that might be difficult for some folks to navigate.
That being said, my three year old does walk the trails on his own. But my crew, as you can tell, pretty much grow up hiking and quickly get acclimated to the rigors of intense trails. I try not to make a big deal about it and just encourage them when they start struggling. But there have been times when a big brother or sister has helped piggy-back ride a little one at difficult parts of our hiking adventures.
When we are hiking I usually will set my cell phone timer for a minimum of 30 minutes. After 30 minutes I reevaluate how everyone is coping on the trails and if we're doing okay we keep on walking, if not we turn back around. I do try to be mindful that the little ones will have to make it back out, lol. At Lake Howard it takes us about 40 minutes to reach where the main trail forks. So, that is always our goal for this particular hiking adventure.
If it were up to me, I could go hiking at least once a week, but that is highly impractical under our current family dynamics (and I wouldn't change those for anything). Which is why I'm extra grateful for the times when we do make it into the woods to enjoy God's creation. Being in nature helps me to regroup and refocus my energy. For some reason when we're hiking I seem to forget all the worries of life and I can just breathe, feeling truly at peace. So while it does take an act of congress to get us to these little hiking adventures of ours, they are so very worth the hassle to me.
With Love & Hope,
Jennifer
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