Hike and backpack as much as possible

So I’ve spent the summer in the Headlands near San Francisco. We’re pretty isolated out here, and there’s not a whole lot to do except for hike around. I have been hiking just about every day. It’s fantastic!

We took my 7 month old son and 3 year old daughter out hiking and biking this past weekend. The Saturday hike was on the trails along the Greenbelt—nothing exciting but it went very well. I had my son in the backpack carrier for about 2 hours and he loved it. Not a peep out of him the whole time! (My son is normally a very loud little guy so it’s really surprising that he was silent for such a long time.) The Tough Traveler must be as comfortable for him as it is for me. I did attach toys to the loops just in case he got bored with looking around. He never even touched them. He was much more interested in the world around us.

And I’d been worried about my daughter’s stamina. We haven’t done much walking since before my son was born. But she really enjoyed the hike, too. I let her carry her own backpack filled with a couple of light items. She didn’t even seem to notice it was on.

During the hike, I stayed with her while my husband walked ahead, looked around, and explored side trails. I pointed out interesting things to see, talked to her, and showed her where and how to walk. When she got anxious about not seeing my husband on the trail, I explained that people walk at different paces and that we’d see him a little later. When we got home, my daughter told both my husband and me that she had so much fun with us.

On Sunday, we went on a bike ride on the paved portion of the Greenbelt. It’s fairly flat, thankfully. Again, I carried the kids in the trailer because my husband wanted to do some biking on the trails. What a workout! We rode for about an hour. I would look back at my wee ones occasionally and was amused to see my daughter snuggling my son. She put her arm around him and, later, held his hand. Anyway, another great time was had by all. My daughter and I talked a little bit but we mostly just enjoyed the scenery and the ride. My son was awake the whole time but, like the hike, was silent. He seems to enjoy the outdoors as much as we do.

While out, I picked up a map that shows where the rest of the Greenbelt is located. This weekend is supposed to be absolutely beautiful so I suggested to my husband that we do a picnic hike or bike ride. That way we can really take advantage of the nice weather and be out as much as possible. I can’t wait.

Anyone else have outdoor plans for this coming weekend?

I just purchased a Tough Traveler child backpack carrier over eBay for under $15, including S&H! It’s an older model but the seller says it’s still in great shape—just some fading. From what I’ve read, the Tough Traveler is the child carrier of choice for hiking. I’m really excited about testing it out. It should get here shortly and we have a couple of nice days coming up.

The only kink in my desire to hike often with the kids: my husband is now working a day shift and we don’t have a second vehicle. Don’t get me wrong - I’m happy he’s working during the day. It makes family life easier. And I figure I can take him to work or wait until the weekend to go on hikes. But right now, the kids have still been asleep when he leaves - he has to be at work by 7am—and I don’t want to wake them up so we can take him to work. Maybe they’ll wake up earlier once it starts getting light earlier. Anyway, that limits my away-from-home outdoor activities to evenings and weekends. Which isn’t really a bad thing. It has the benefit of giving my husband the opportunity to join us if he likes.

I’m still committed to hiking and camping with the kids—it’ll just take a little more planning and a little more effort on my behalf.

I’m also considering joining the local hiking club in this area. It’d be nice to do some dayhikes with other adults and it’d be a nice way for me to get some alone time outside of the house. The club seems to offer several hikes a month of various difficulties in warmish weather. It seems like a good way to get to know other enthusiasts and a way to get to know the area. And maybe I can meet some other parents out there who like to hike and camp with their kids.

Pretty tame compared to the other posts on this goal but the season is just beginning….

This time we hiked up to Opal Ridge in Kananaskis Country.
We did not hike all of its length because the ridge is sharp and had snow and some ice, so we only went as far as it was safe.
The ascent was relentlessly steep, but it was fun. The day was warm for this part of the year, and it would have been very nice if it were not for the wind, which was fierce although not cold.
This is one of the warmest places in KCountry, south facing as it is.
This and the chinook wind clear it of the snow for many months, making the area very good for seeing bighorn sheep and mountain goats, with some luck. We were very lucky yesterday, and saw 5 of the latter, 3 adults and 2 lambs. We approached from above and got 30 meters away before they moved away. I had never seen mountain goats that close. They are beautiful, whith those long, white hair, and black pointy horns.
It is worth trying the ridge again next June, and go down from Grizzly creek canyon, on the opposite side. That should be the right time, when the snow has just disappeared and everything is full of flowers, later that place must turn into a furnace…

Yesterday we gathered a fairly large group to meet the requirements for bear safety and hike to Wenkechemna pass (Lake Louise area).
After the junction between Sentinel Pass and Eiffel lake trails the snow started to increase and by Eiffel lake we had to break the trail in calf-deep snow.
After the lake in some places it became even deeper. We abandoned the trail, close to avalanche shutes, and made for the path of least resistence, the same choice made by some animals. We met old tracks of a grizzly and her cub, and we were guided up the last, steep slope (thigh deep snow) by the FRESH tracks of a lonely grizzly, that was clearly bleeding frow one paw. We went on to the pass, despite the (rather remote) possibility that it could be lurking behind some bumps, and from there admired on one side the valley of the 10 peaks in all its length, and on the other the deep Prospector’s Valley, that connects to the O’Hara region through Opabin Pass. Very beautiful.

A hike below timberline at the end of the season. Lots of mud and snow (in places both at the same time!).
A 6.5km ascent, not too steep, in the middle of uninspiring wood with no views whatsoever. The lake was nice, it must be admitted, but is was a poor reward for the effort.
Anyway, the lake is set in a steep cirque, and encircled by a mixed wood of spruce and larches, which were still having their beautiful yellow leaves. Pity it was cloudy (with flurries) and all the colours dull.
Also, continuing to O’Brien Lake as we had planned was impossible because the trail is faint in ordinary conditions, and the snow and boggy ground underneath it made it completely impossible to follow.

On Sunday, 25/9/05, we (David, Jessica, Judy and me) hiked from Sunshine Village to Citadel Pass. We had to pay for the shuttle but it was worth as it cut 6.5km of road, and 500m elevation gain.
The morning was promising, the sky sunny and the air crystal clear.
We ventured on the trail into the alpine meadows, covered by a thin layer of fresh snow, cooled by a soft chilly breeze.
Soon Mt Assiniboine was visible, as close as I have ever seen it. All the mountains around were snow capped, and the larches yellow.
It does me good to see such beauty and breathe that cool clean air.
We had our lunch at Citadel Pass, then hurried back to catch the last bus.

My daughter loves the tent. She plays in it, eats in it, sleeps in it. The next step is to set it up outside and see how she does with it there….

I think this is going to be one of my high-priority goals for the coming year. I really, really want to do this. My oldest child will be able to ‘hike’ on her own for short distances while my son will be old enough to appreciate some of what he sees. I figure he’ll be in either a backpack carrier or in a front pack. It’s good to start them young, right?

I plan to continue walking around town almost every day, go hiking at least once a week, and go camping at least once a month. Any parents out there who already manage to go hiking and camping frequently with wee ones?

Steps to take to accomplish this goal:
1) get my daughter used to carrying a little backpack of her own
2) walk almost every day in all kinds of weather
3) get all the necessary gear
4) read-up on hiking and camping with kids (I already have Adventuring with Children, Best Hikes with Children in Pennsylvania, and Kids in the Wild and I’ve read a couple of inspiring books by parents who have taken their kids on multi-month backpacking adventures)
5) ‘practice’ camping with my kids—camp in the backyard, go car-camping, etc.
6) form a Mom’s Hiking Group

This has been my first hike in Kootenay, I don’t know why I did not go there before.
The hike to Floe lake is the forst leg of the famous backpacking trip to the Rockwall, an awesome, sheer wall of rock, that runs for 35 km almost uninterrupted by gaps. Floe lake is very beautiful, especially now that the larches are yellow. Pity that the weather was very cloudy, windy and cold. We have nonetheless continued to numa pass and then up the rigdge to the right (east), to a flat summit giving excellent views of Mt Temple and the 10 peaks above Moraine Lake, Mt Ball, Mt Assiniboine and the Goodsir Towers.
A very long day, but worth the effort.