Let them be little; let them be wild

Let them be a little wild 

On Hiking with Toddlers:

A little bit about my history with this great state, hiking and the PNW:

I've spent my life in Washington; a true Seattlelite and PNW-er by nature. I like my Starbucks and I grew up wearing socks with my sandals. I grew up in the Issaquah area, and spent some time in the city after high school. Born in Seattle, lived in Spokane for a few years as a toddler, moved back in the middle of Kindergarden. My grandpa built this gorgeous home (where my mother, an Issaquah High Alumni was raised) on Lake McDonald in Renton, and my grandparents were currently renting it out so they let my mom and her two rambunctious kids live there while she searched for a home. After about a year, my mom bought a nice big house in North Bend with a 1/2 acre yard, just about a mile from Rattlesnake Lake/Ridge. If you stood in my backyard and looked up, there was Mt. Si. 

Being a true Issaquah native, my mother could imagine nothing but the best for her children and therefore she commuted us from North Bend to Issaquah for school so we could get an education and do something with our lives. (Someday, she will get over the disappointment)

Eventually I think the commute was wearing on her, and she gave in and moved us to the city of Issaquah when I was in 6th grade. 

 My mom is more of a mall going kind of woman-- she used to wear boots with heels to our soccer games;  you know... a grassy field full of mud puddles and potholes. (We love her anyway) So had it not been for one of my best friends mother... I may never have seen anything but the inside of a mall. 

Anyway, I spent a fair amount of time with my friend and her mother hiking (and swimming at) Rattlesnake, Little Si, playing down by the river with lots of tanning oil, and endless hours on the trails on Tiger Mountain and the Poo Poo Point trails, and probably plenty others that I don't remember... but eventually grew out of these things and had other interests such as lip gloss, boys, Myspace, underage drinking. 

So while I am not a seasoned hiker, and haven't done a lot of the hikes I feel that I should have (guilt from living here my whole life)... I am also no stranger to it. I decided last year I wanted my boys to have this same kind of opportunity presented to them. Some of my best memories are laughing so hard you realize you have to pee and you're in the middle of the woods. Life lessons 101: learning to pee in the wilderness. You don't know you like something unless you do it, right? (Hiking, not peeing in public)

I was nervous about Ryan running off the top of the mountain. No, seriously. This was a true fear. If you've met Ryan, you know exactly why. But by the time we got to the top, the kid could barely keep his eyes open and his legs could go no further. 

Things I learned on the trail with two toddlers:

1. The crew is the most important part; I am lucky enough to have the most patient friend in the world, and she has met an awesome guy and the two of them are such amazing people in my kids lives.  Seriously, when I count my blessings, these two are at the top of the list. They were so patient with the pace of the kids, and the little tantrums Ryan began to throw when he was just about done. I lack patience and they are serious examples to me. Plus I get annoyed with the constant stream of questions on a daily basis so it's nice to have other people for the kids to talk to. 

2. You can never bring enough water. Seriously. I brought each of us a water bottle, and an extra water bottle and they were all empty by the time we got to the bottom. 

3. I should have carried a bigger bag; hiking with toddlers means trips and falls. While I did pack bandaids and rubbing alcohol, I should have carried a travel emergency kit as well, and a change of clothes for both kids plus wipes (even if your kid isn't in a pullup/diaper-- for mud). I only packed a change of clothes for one, and we used it. Also, garbage bags. For the wet, muddy clothes. 

4. You can never have too many snacks. Fuel while going up, not just at the top. 

5. It's not about the time it takes to get up there. The whole point of taking kids is to teach them and let them take it all in. They hear new noises and they want to know what it is. This is where my crew came in. I'm not so patient with these things (honestly, sometimes I just respond with a "yeah" when my kids talk too much"). 

6. Be prepared to carry one. or both. Luckily, I just had to carry Ryan. He just couldn't quite make it all the way. On the way down, he was all songs and laughter for the first 10 minutes and then I heard a little buzz in my ear and sure enough, the kid was out cold the rest of the way down. But in retrospect, had one of them gotten too tired, and one had gotten hurt... they would have both needed to be carried. So my advice is to plan for that. If there's 3 adults, you don't need 3 backpacks. 

7. TOWELS! For your car. Kicked myself for forgetting this. Especially if you bring your dog. 

We had so much fun and I can't wait to plan the next hike with them!