and the world keeps spinning..
It's just around the corner. I will be packing my bags and packing the vehicle they give us with lots of goodies and free swag to give away. I am looking forward to it.
My day's consist of conference calls, emails, texting, awaiting packages, and working on a presentation. As much as it can be stressful and take it's toll, I am enjoying it thus far.
I finally took a day off. With the end in sight, my boyfriend took a few days off after Easter to spend some time with me and his 7 year old daughter while on school vacation. Josh being quite the outdoorsy person as well as me, we decided to take his daughter on her first true hike. I found this to be the perfect opportunity for me to test out some new gear, as well as for her to test out her new hiking boots I received form our shoe sponsor.
Checked the conditions, debated back and forth on what trail would be good for her first time, especially in spring conditions. Many things were thought about, will she need traction on her feet?, how many miles could she handle in a day?, what to bring for her to wear?. This was my first time taking a child on trail with me. I have hiked with others and their kids, but their kids had been doing this almost their entire lives and have it pretty keyed in as to what they are getting themselves into.
We woke up the next morning planning to hike just to Hojo's or Hermit Lake as some of you know it as. I figured it was steep enough to gain the elevation she would gain on most mountains around here, the length wasn't too much longer than what she had done previously. She seemed nervous. I was nervous. Josh, I'm sure was nervous.
Arrived at Pinkham Notch Visitor Center where we took her into the building, I showed her where to register her name and time and trail she would be taking. I explained to her how important these registration books are in case of an emergency. She understood. She even remember that I singed it at 9:57am.
Believe it or not, this was our first hike together, the three of us. Believe it or not, this was mine and Josh's second hike together. We were ready, very prepared. We weren't going to let her take a pack, but she wanted to. I put a small first aid kit in there with Minnie Mouse. (I'll explain later.)
We hit the trail and kept the traction off to see how she would manage with her new boots and with the trail conditions. As we crossed over the first bridge, we dropped a layer. In all my times hiking Mount Washington, the first bridge crossing has always been my "drop a layer stop" because I know it's only uphill from there.
As we continued towards Crystal Cascade she was slipping a little bit. We stopped to take a look at the roaring waterfall, put on our traction, and take a few photos.
So far so good. As we started to incline a bit after the first corner, she started to not enjoy it as much. Saying it was "hard" she was "tired". The first thing that came to mind was something I learned while being on trail with my friend Trish and her 2 girls (roughly around the same age). I immediately thought about some of the things her girls would do on trail that kept their mind busy thinking about other things than the tough spots. GAMES! So, I turned around and said, "I've got an idea, lets play a game. For every letter of the Alphabet we will name a dessert." (Thanks, Trish, Alex, and Sage) Harper LOVED this idea. And so it began. Her mind was elsewhere, we kept trekking and before we knew it we were at the second bridge crossing. Which meant we were getting closer.
We took a few more photos, refueled and kept on moving. Slow, but really we were just enjoying the beautiful day and learning about Harper on trail. Making sure that she was OK, and she was just saying it. Shortly after the turn off for the Service Road she started to complain her feet her. The mole-skin I had put on before we started had peeled off. She was starting to develop hot spots (irritation before the blister). We stopped, Josh tried to fix it with putting a second sock on her feet and band-aids. Unfortunately, it didn't help her and she couldn't understand it. We hit the last hill before the Lion Head Summer route trail head and Josh, picked her up and put her on his shoulders the last couple tenths of a mile to Hojo's. She chit chatted up there having a blast, Josh and I picked up the pace, and before we knew it we MADE IT!
We sat down in the shade because we forgot the sunscreen! AHH. The moment we hit NOCO, I couldn't believe I forgot it. Harper's feet were sore, but I had told her I had a piece of Apple Pie her dad made the day before in my pack waiting for her if she made it. Well, I will put money on it, that apple pie was the best slice she has EVER had. We took in our surroundings, explained to her how awesome she was for sticking it out. About a half hour later we hit the trail back down to the car.
Passing many kids younger than her hiking up with their parents, and SKIS on their back.. I think it was finally hitting her. What she just did was pretty BAD ASS for a 7 Year Old. We all hiked down at a great pace she kept up, less friction on her heels and she was chatting the entire way down.
Overall, it was a beautiful day. I was a teacher, parent, kid, and happy to have the opportunity to teach her some things I've learned along the way. It was beautiful to witness her father and her spending that kind of moment together. To see how proud he was of her made me feel good.
For the next 5 months, I will be talking about all my past journeys and future journeys ahead, on trail, off trail, and where ever else life takes me. I get to teach others all about the adventure of being out in the woods, and how to prepare for a good time. Life has given me such a wonderful opportunity, as well as a great supporting family!
(**Minnie Mouse** Minnie was bought for me to take with me everywhere I travel for the next 5 months. Similar to a Flat Stanley. I will take photo's of her and send them to Harper so she knows where I am and can learn about new places across the country she lives in.)
My day's consist of conference calls, emails, texting, awaiting packages, and working on a presentation. As much as it can be stressful and take it's toll, I am enjoying it thus far.
I finally took a day off. With the end in sight, my boyfriend took a few days off after Easter to spend some time with me and his 7 year old daughter while on school vacation. Josh being quite the outdoorsy person as well as me, we decided to take his daughter on her first true hike. I found this to be the perfect opportunity for me to test out some new gear, as well as for her to test out her new hiking boots I received form our shoe sponsor.
Checked the conditions, debated back and forth on what trail would be good for her first time, especially in spring conditions. Many things were thought about, will she need traction on her feet?, how many miles could she handle in a day?, what to bring for her to wear?. This was my first time taking a child on trail with me. I have hiked with others and their kids, but their kids had been doing this almost their entire lives and have it pretty keyed in as to what they are getting themselves into.
We woke up the next morning planning to hike just to Hojo's or Hermit Lake as some of you know it as. I figured it was steep enough to gain the elevation she would gain on most mountains around here, the length wasn't too much longer than what she had done previously. She seemed nervous. I was nervous. Josh, I'm sure was nervous.
Arrived at Pinkham Notch Visitor Center where we took her into the building, I showed her where to register her name and time and trail she would be taking. I explained to her how important these registration books are in case of an emergency. She understood. She even remember that I singed it at 9:57am.
We hit the trail and kept the traction off to see how she would manage with her new boots and with the trail conditions. As we crossed over the first bridge, we dropped a layer. In all my times hiking Mount Washington, the first bridge crossing has always been my "drop a layer stop" because I know it's only uphill from there.
As we continued towards Crystal Cascade she was slipping a little bit. We stopped to take a look at the roaring waterfall, put on our traction, and take a few photos.
We took a few more photos, refueled and kept on moving. Slow, but really we were just enjoying the beautiful day and learning about Harper on trail. Making sure that she was OK, and she was just saying it. Shortly after the turn off for the Service Road she started to complain her feet her. The mole-skin I had put on before we started had peeled off. She was starting to develop hot spots (irritation before the blister). We stopped, Josh tried to fix it with putting a second sock on her feet and band-aids. Unfortunately, it didn't help her and she couldn't understand it. We hit the last hill before the Lion Head Summer route trail head and Josh, picked her up and put her on his shoulders the last couple tenths of a mile to Hojo's. She chit chatted up there having a blast, Josh and I picked up the pace, and before we knew it we MADE IT!
Passing many kids younger than her hiking up with their parents, and SKIS on their back.. I think it was finally hitting her. What she just did was pretty BAD ASS for a 7 Year Old. We all hiked down at a great pace she kept up, less friction on her heels and she was chatting the entire way down.
Overall, it was a beautiful day. I was a teacher, parent, kid, and happy to have the opportunity to teach her some things I've learned along the way. It was beautiful to witness her father and her spending that kind of moment together. To see how proud he was of her made me feel good.
For the next 5 months, I will be talking about all my past journeys and future journeys ahead, on trail, off trail, and where ever else life takes me. I get to teach others all about the adventure of being out in the woods, and how to prepare for a good time. Life has given me such a wonderful opportunity, as well as a great supporting family!
(**Minnie Mouse** Minnie was bought for me to take with me everywhere I travel for the next 5 months. Similar to a Flat Stanley. I will take photo's of her and send them to Harper so she knows where I am and can learn about new places across the country she lives in.)
Hike Safe & Keep on Trekking
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