Every so often, Shane and I dont even follow our own advice. I should hate to admit this fact, but really, what I love most about this post is that is shows the power we have over our own happiness and fulfillment! We all come to every situation in our life with a choice. We can see the GOOD in things and be joyful, or we can see the BAD in things and complain, fester and moan. Here is our families latest journey into the joy of just being together.
After all previous posts about how to plan hiking trips with children to be SUCCESSFUL (here......THE JOURNEY and here.....THE DESTINATION) and create experiences that allow children to enjoy the outdoors and see the value in hiking and nature you would think we could heed this advice for a local hike. If NOTHING ELSE, then at least pick a location where we knew the girls can hike for a little while and then play if they get tired. But no...not on Sunday.
This is what happens when we don't even follow our own advice (which, honestly, happens more often than I would like to admit, HA!!)
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A hike that had absolutely NOTHING going for it....straight uphill, no creek (which we promised the girls), snow, steep hillsides, no picnic spots....but ended up being just as uplifting and fulfilling of a family outing as our best planned hikes.
Last Sunday, we packed up the girls and Hazel and set off to Deer Creek for a day spent hiking and playing along the creek. The temps were supposed to be in the upper 70's so we were guaranteed at least an hour of hiking, and 2 - 3 hours along the creek while the girls played. Shane and I brought our books and cribbage. We were set to have a perfect relaxing day along Deer Creek.The drive there is about 45 minutes, and Shane and I were enjoying a great conversation - the joy of not listening to podcasts!! Shane asked if we might just drive a bit more and try a different trail. I was all for it, but I made sure to ask - IS IT BY A CREEK? Cuz I know that the girls were pretty set on playing by some water.
YEP, Along a creek......cool, lets do it. We even asked the girls if it was OK to try a different trail. They were watching FROZEN in the back, so they were fine with driving longer!!
Shane just KNEW there was a trail somewhere along the highway to Lassen. It was a bit passed where he thought it was, because we eventually got far enough from the creek to know that the trail would NOT be by a creek. The trail ended up being about 20 minutes past Deer Creek. The trail is called SPENCER MEADOWS. The trailhead said the meadows were 5 miles so we were not going to be making it to the meadows, but hopefully we would be able to make it to a nice place to stop, play and have lunch.
Hmmm....this trail did nothing but climb up the side of this mountain. Up and up and up it went without a creek anywhere in site. Even worse, it basically followed along the highway so as we climbed up and up and up, we could still hear all the cars driving by toward Lassen. 15 minutes up, then 30 minutes up higher......then 45 minutes......with lots of "Where is the creek?" "Are we almost there?" "When are we going to stop and eat, I'M STARVING?"
Not only is there no creek in sight, but soon enough the trail is covered in snow. Alli is in her river sandals, her toes are frozen. We keep hiking and looking for a place to stop and eat, but there is absolutely nowhere that is flat enough to eat or not covered in snow.
Finally, we get situated enough to eat. As we are eating, Alli says "Mommy, that owl is creeping me out. It is just staring at me." At first I dont believe she really sees an owl because, well, we never have seen an owl and she likes to make up shapes she sees in trees.....but she is relentless about how creepy this owl is, so I crouch over where they are and sure enough, there is a beautiful owl just staring at us. It watched us sit and eat our lunch for 30 minutes. It was amazing. Unfortunately, I did not have my good camera....this was the best my phone camera could do....
After tummies were full and we packed up we all headed back to the car. This was one thing that was a guaranteed success on this "flop" of a hike. The hike back to the car was ALL DOWNHILL. The girls ran nearly the entire way back to the car - running with Hazel and finding sticks and just having a grand old time. Always running back every so often to hike with us, holding our hands and telling us how much they love us and how beautiful the hike was.
No matter how much a hike does not meet our expectations or how much of a FLOP it is, we still have the time we have spent together. and the lessons the girls have learned while being outside and with us.
We found this lizard that had just recently died. The girls were fascinated being able to look at all the parts up close.
Then they did what all sensitive, respectful children would do. They made a grave for it, said a prayer of peace for its soul and buried it. Complete with a gravestone.
What I love about hiking (biking, running, yoga, meditation), is that it allows me time to be with my thoughts. I love the clarity that I get when moving my body. I often think about life, and love, about parenting and personal growth, about hardships and struggles and challenges. Really, it is just a time for me to reflect upon anything in my life that needs reflection.
This day, I was giving thanks to the fact that Shane and I have the time, money, energy, passion and perseverance and desire to prioritize these outings as a family. The girls want to be with us, they love to be with us, we love to be with them. We all love to be together. It may not last forever that the girls choose to hike with us instead of any other activity that they could do, but I prefer to think that it will last. But, if the time comes when they don't want to hike with us anymore.....we will have thousands of these experiences in our hearts, in our minds and in our souls.
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