Our family loves to hike, and we try to do so regularly. We live
in the Pacific Northwest and weather doesn’t always cooperate, but we do try to
get out several times a month. Personally, I find hiking refreshing and
invigorating ~ a way to refuel and nourish my soul. There is something so
rewarding about the breathtaking view from the top of a summit or the hidden
waterfall. And let’s face it, we have some pretty fantastic scenery in this
part of the country that’s worth seeing in all four seasons.
Not willing to wait until our children were "old enough"
to hike, my husband and I figured out ways to take them along. We started by
carrying them in backpacks and then when they were able to walk, we would do
short hikes. Now ages 8 and 10, our daughters have hiked many miles in many
states and know that when the weekend comes, it's time to hike.
This post is not meant to be prescriptive, but rather is an
attempt to share with you what works for our family. My hope is that you will
be inspired to get your own family outside and enjoy the great outdoors. Our
only expertise in this area comes from getting out and doing it regularly.
Although our girls can handle longer hikes (5-8 miles), we didn’t
start out that way. We also don't finish every hike we set out on. The
important thing to remember is that it's a journey ~ an adventure ~ and there
is no right way to do it.
Here are some steps our family takes to make our hiking experiences
more enjoyable.
to read the rest, head on over to Northwest Healthy Mama....
I enjoyed reading about your hiking adventures. I'm not hiking as much right now--lost my hiking buddy to a move :(
ReplyDeleteScrolling down and reading, I noticed that you are joining a Classical Conversations group. You'll most likely be doing some IEW writing segments. That's the program I teach--if you have questions, etc, let me know. I'd be happy to converse about it.
We are only doing Foundations this year - if all goes well, we'll add Essentials next year which will include IEW. At least that's how I think it will go. I bought Brave Writer for this year - are you familiar with that?
DeleteI so agree - start them young! We have a picture of Noam with hiking poles at 20 months old!
ReplyDelete