A Family Hike

Obligatory Baby in the Ergo photo

Hiking with five children, ages 12, 8, 6, 3 and 10 months, is a daunting process.  However, my husband and I decided to make it a family priority, so we persevere. As with most things, we are getting better at it with practice.

We eat like hobbits on Sundays, eating a light first breakfast, attending the 8 am Mass, then coming home and cooking either sourdough pancakes or waffles.  This last Sunday Matt and I had planned a hike after our second breakfast.  The sky was dull and grey, and there was intermittent drizzle that sometimes threatened to turn into actual rain.  We looked at each other, wondering if we were really up to hiking with the kids in the rain.  I declared that I didn't want our family to be fair weather hikers and my intrepid husband agreed, donning his rain hat and jacket to go put our cheaper-than-upgrading-to-a-Suburban hitch mounted platform on the back of the Tahoe.

Ah, finally there and ready to go!

  Challenges ensued - a bolt had vibrated off our ancient hand-me-down jogging stroller, necessitating a scrounge for something that would suffice as a quick fix, the three year old's rain boots wouldn't fit with his warm socks and we discovered that somehow he only has sandals, church shoes and rain boots that fit right now, the six year old was determined to wear shorts no matter what - but despite the temporary setbacks, water bottles were filled, jackets were found, appropriate shoes were placed on feet and everyone eventually piled out to the car.

Isn't this the greatest drainage pipe you've ever seen?  I'm looking forward to hiking here when there's some runoff.

We decided to try a local canal trail so Matt could push Justin (3) in the jog stroller rather than carry him in the backpack.  I had Hannah (10 mo) in the Ergo, and since the trail was reasonably flat, we brought Nathan's (6) bike.  He loves his bike, and is a much happier person on hikes with the bike than on foot.  This also allows us to keep a faster pace, something that makes the older kids and parents happier too.

The brand new suspension bridge over Deer Creek.  It is nice and bouncy with some great views.

We had some rain on our way to the trail, and a little drizzle now and then as we hiked, but overall we did quite well, proving the Swedish proverb that there is no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes.  We only walked a little over two miles, but we decided that was sufficient for the day.  Justin and Nathan were starting to venture near the edge of whiny-ness, and it seemed best to turn around while spirits were still high.  And little by little, hike by hike, a family culture of being outdoors and hiking together is born and grows.

A tributary to Deer Creek, with some beautiful sculpted rocks and just a little bit of water.  Everyone wants to go back once the water starts flowing again in this area.