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It’s not hard to get out the door for a hike when it’s sunny and 65*, even if it is January.
Last week we had temps in the teens and twenties and we got some snow Friday night. Yesterday the temps started climbing and our snow melted, leaving a muddy mess.
Planning around the weather
Our usual hiking trails are in a mixed-use park for hikers, horses, and mountain bikes, and they don’t like anyone on the trails when they’re wet since the trails get chewed up. Last year we just wouldn’t go hiking if the ground was too wet, but this year we’re going hiking regardless of the conditions.
I knew the forecast for this week called for warmer temps and possibly rain, so I’d started looking at other parks we could go hiking at even if it was raining or muddy.
Having a plan in place and being mentally prepared to hit the trails made it much easier to get going in the morning.
Finding new trails to hike
I found a park not too far away that fit the bill, though it doesn’t have a very expansive trail system. We did the two big loops and it only came to 2 miles. The smaller loop was a paltry 3/4 of a mile. Not great if we want mileage, but honestly, we’re not there yet. River is able to go a lot farther than when we started hiking last spring, but he still gets tired and wants to “hode” my hand.
These trails were more narrow and twisty than what we’re used to at the other park, and they were steeper as well. Add in the mud, and it was not our fastest hike ever. But that’s not why we do them, so it’s ok.
Our Experience
As we stopped for a quick break I thought about our hiking technique. On shorter hikes I prefer to keep going until we’re done, and then rest. That doesn’t work for my kiddos though, so we took a couple rest breaks along the way. Fruit snacks and a drink of water work wonders on the flagging spirits of my little hikers.
About half our hike was along the shoreline of a lake, which gave us some great investigative opportunities. Initially we thought the ice was almost melted, but after carefully poking my trekking pole into the water, we realized there was still a very solid layer of ice under the surface water that had melted.
We also found old evidence of beavers gnawing on trees, though no beaver dams, much to Sunshine’s disappointment.
Temps were in the mid-60’s- perfect hiking weather. Sunshine and I agreed that we wouldn’t want to do this hike in the heat and humidity of summer, but in cooler weather it was fine.
Being prepared and planning ahead allowed us to have a great experience!
hike #2 of my 52 hike challenge, 4.7 total miles towards the 365 challenge
