We haven't always been as avid about hiking as we are now, but even when we had young children we took them on some good hikes. In fact our first really big day hike was when our son had just turned 6 and our daughter was almost 8.
Back in July, 1994 we took the kids on a 2 week tent camping vacation to Newfoundland. We did several short hikes during the trip, but we also did one big day hike to the summit of Gros Morne Mountain.
It was a fairly tough 16 km (10 mile) hike... and the park ranger later told us that he had never heard of a 6 year old completing it.
Lindsey, Alex, and Ruth.
Ruth and Alex.
Alex, Kevin, and Lindsey.
When we arrived back at the campsite Ruth and I were beat... but you can't tire out the kids... they wanted to go swimming!
In January of 2005, Ruth and I took a one week break from the kids and flew down to Arizona where we planned on hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. There had been a big storm go through and one of the trails was closed. Still we managed to complete the hike by going down and back up the steep South Kaibab Trail.
Me, heading down into the Grand Canyon.
Ruth.
We stayed overnight at Phantom Ranch.
And then hiked back out the next day.
I remember thinking that the uphill journey was never going to end!
In late August of 2006, we flew out to British Columbia for a couple of weeks to visit relatives. British Columbia has some of the most fantastic scenery in Canada, so of course we did some hiking while there...
Ruth on the Joffre Lakes Trail.
The Joffre Lakes Trail brings you to some gorgeous viewpoints.
March of 2007 brought us to Portugal where we met up with Ruth's cousin Helen and her husband Tony for the walk that never ended. We set out at about 8:30am and didn't really have a plan. By 12:30pm, we were still walking, and couldn't figure out how to get back!
Setting out at 8:30am.
Me, trying to figure out if there is a path through here.
Still walking at 12:30pm
We could see the road we wanted to be on, but we couldn't figure out how to get to it. Of course in those days we didn't carry around a phone with a mapping system on it!
We ended up having to walk on the main highway.
We have no idea how many miles we did that day, but it sure was a long walk!
June of 2011 found us on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. The national park there had a contest on where you had to do 75 kms (46.5 miles) of hiking trails in the park and you could win a prize package. We did it in a week, just by doing day hikes every day and we were the first people to complete it.
June 2011 on the Skyline Trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia.
June 2011, Broad Cove Mountain Trail Cape Breton Highlands National Park.
In the summer of 2012, we went to Czech Republic and Slovakia. They have some of the coolest hiking trails, with bridges and ladders and chains and ropes... very fun stuff!!
All so that you can get to places like this!!
The summit of Malý Rozsutec in Malá Fatra National Park near Terchová, Slovakia
In February of 2013, we drove out little blue car down to Guatemala for the sole purpose of doing a five night hike in the Guatemala highlands.
As a warm up, we did the Santa Maria Volcano hike. This one just about did us in. We were "only" 51 years old at the time, but we were hiking with a group of 25 and 30 year olds. The climb up was in the rain and fog, and the overnight at the top was windy, wet, and miserable.
But we woke up to this...
Sunrise, camped on top of a volcano at 12,400'
We watched a volcano erupt below us!
On top of the world.
Two days later we did a five night 60 km (37 mile) hiking trip in the Guatemala highlands. We had to carry our own gear. We were pretty slow on the uphill stretches, but we could keep up with the rest of them on the straight parts...
Me, in Guatemala.
Okay, that's enough for now... stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow morning!
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And in Canada...
I had forgotten about that hike in Portugal, it was incredibly hot by the time we finally made it back to the road and had to hike up the hill. Fun times
ReplyDeleteLol, I remember that! And as we were walking back to our cottage we were trying to figure out what we wanted most when we arrived back, something really cold to drink or food or somewhere to put our feet up and rest. :-)
DeleteI think I lost my sense of humour on the walk back up that hill. It was a beautiful area with stunning views.
DeleteYour sense of humour came back quickly though once we got into the port. lol!!!
DeleteWe need to go back to Portugal and see more of it, it really is a beautiful country. :-)
I'm not as much a hiker as I an a stroller, but I did do Bright Angel when I was 18. Actually I walked down to the river, and on the way out at Indian Gardens met a friend on the way down, so I went back to the river and then out. Almost missed supper...
ReplyDeleteThat sounds to me like it was much more of a hike than a stroll! ;-)
DeleteI wish when we had done the hike to the bottom that we could have come up the Bright Angel trail, just so that we got to see the canyon from a different angle. I guess that just means that we need to go there again some day.
I spent too much time working and missed out on all these great hikes that you did. Are you sure that you aren't part Mountain Goat.
ReplyDeleteBe Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
I think there were only four hikes that Kevin mentioned here that were before we started blogging, the rest you can still go back and read about if you missed them. We have done some many fantastic hikes now that we are starting to lose count of them.
DeleteAnd, yes Kevin is definitely part Mountain Goat! I have mentioned that to him before and so have others, especially on a number of our hikes this past winter with the caravan group in Mexico. :-)
Que bonita la familia y los recuerdos. We took that same hike at Grand Canyon on our trip to Canada. This is what it is all about!
ReplyDeleteThank you Chris, we think we were a beautiful family too with some great memories. :-)
DeleteYou two sure had a great trip that year!
What can I say?! I tip my hat off to you two awesome , adventurous hikers! Bravo and may you continue to discover the paths less traveled to reach unimaginable heights and views in this amazing world!
ReplyDeleteWe are looking forward to doing more fantastic hikes once we hike Europe and beyond. :-)
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