| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| catscharm74 |
Posted - Mar 21 2007 : 09:13:44 AM
My favorite activity is to hike...I could spend HOURS doing this. When I find a good spot, I love to swim too and it great to cool off after a long hike. I am trying to keep my body fit the natural way- no gyms or weird excercise programs. I was a very active kid and I was pretty fit. I am also trying to set a good example for my DS. I want him to love the outdoors. I am starting yoga too just to get a good stretch. What do you like to do??? |
| 16 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Ellen |
Posted - Jun 08 2007 : 1:33:46 PM
Meg and Elizaray
Wow I used a baby bjorn too. Tho todays models looks like the deluxe padding I always dreamed of for my shoulders  sure have neat packs these days.
When we took our babies... I used cloth prefold diapers/washed them out. We didn't use disposables. Using a waterproof bag, from my canoe gear, I would save the days worth until at camp, then with the clothes pin hung them out. If you are in restricted h2o lands=(desert)...we packed more in.
Rambling  we called going off the path = bushwhacking. We lost the trail doing this in Canaan Valley,WestVirgina.Should have been called circling 
Meg, doing 18miles with the altitude tops mine! Were you in the Ashley National Forest? I was reading about was it a whiterocks cave and a fishing spot not far from there. What is the name of the river? |
| Elizaray |
Posted - Apr 12 2007 : 2:54:59 PM
Meg-
Sounds like you have thought it through for Stella! I am sure she is going to love exploring the woods from the pack. It’ll be a lot of fun for her to be out in the woods and see new sights all the time.
I hope my little one enjoys hiking and seeing the sights from her carrier. I think she will because she is already showing curiosity and interest in the world. She has recently discovered that Mom has long hair! So sweet! I can’t wait till she is bigger and can learn more about the outside world!
Elizaray |
| Meg |
Posted - Apr 12 2007 : 2:47:41 PM
Oh, it's just like a baby bjorn carrier. We have one and have loved it, but I think she'll be ready for a pack this summer, size-wise and better views for her too. But the baby bjorn has been great and I think it would be for hiking if your babe was the age she is now (5 months).
MaryJane's daughter,
Meg
megan@maryjanesfarm.org |
| Elizaray |
Posted - Apr 12 2007 : 11:07:28 AM
Meg-
Snuglis are a product by Evenflo where you can wear your baby in two different positions depending on their age. Here is a link so you can look at them.
http://www.evenflo.com/Homepage/ProductList/tabid/203/navid/1/Default.aspx?categoryid=6326fc52-edbf-4948-85f0-37105d7f03ec
Elizaray |
| Meg |
Posted - Apr 12 2007 : 10:20:44 AM
What is a snuggli?
MaryJane's daughter,
Meg
megan@maryjanesfarm.org |
| Elizaray |
Posted - Apr 12 2007 : 08:35:14 AM
Meg-
Have you thought of using a Snuggli while hiking? I am thinking of using putting my Litte One in one of my Snugglies for summer hiking. I am not sure if I am in shape enough to do an 18 mile hike, but I sure would love to attempt it!
I am not so afraid to take my little one out camping as I thought I would be. I guess I get courage by thinking about the thousands of generations that made do without car seats, port-a-cribs and such things. I think the thing I would worry about the most would be the scent from dirty diapers attracting animals. A zip-lock plastic back should solve that problem though.
Elizaray |
| vintagechica |
Posted - Apr 12 2007 : 07:41:06 AM
I am loving this site so much!!!
Jen, I can't wait to read your book!!!
http://www.vintagechica.typepad.com
"A sure way to avoid housework, live outdoors" |
| Meg |
Posted - Apr 11 2007 : 9:41:38 PM
Jen~ I can't wait to READ Wild with Child.
Ellen~ The Uinta mountains in Utah. Gorgeous...but thankfully no rats! I think a good meal (we found an all you can eat buffet, disgusting to think of now but at the time MmmMmm and a good night's sleep was all I needed). I think how proud I was of myself quickly dried me out. And, before the trip I had invested in my most expensive shoes yet, some good hiking boots...I was so pleased I ended up without a single blister, although they did feel quite bruised.
And reading your further posts, it looks like it's a good thing I did my 18 miles because now that we have our wee one, it might be few years before our adventures are that lengthy...
MaryJane's daughter,
Meg
megan@maryjanesfarm.org |
| Elizaray |
Posted - Apr 09 2007 : 1:38:49 PM
I love hiking (with the backpack on long trips) or day hiking too. I usually call day hiking "rambling" because I usually just ramble through the forest and don't stick to trails. I also love free climbing rock faces when possible and have been wanting to get into real rock climbing but the cost is a bit daunting at the moment. I also love white water rafting and a lazy day by the stream fishing :)
Elizaray |
| Jen |
Posted - Apr 02 2007 : 12:08:18 PM
Well, with the advent of parenthood, I got this crazy (or not so crazy) paranoia about water. Yeah, the kids have life jackets, but the combination of a river's power & a child's helplessness just gives me the willies. I'm getting better (and the girls are learning to swim) They're gonna love paddling this summer. I'll probably just snuggle Sam in the hull on a blanket or hold him (he's 8 mos). We always take really easy floats & portage if we see a snag, so, like I said, it's my own paranoia!
We never did make huckleberry wine, which sounds fantastic. We made shakes, pancakes, muffins, etc. But you can't beat just eating them warm & juicy, fresh off the bush, you know? While I was hugely pregnant last summer, I had a hard time seeing over my belly to pick & an even harder time trying to bend over! We usually got a gallon or two, though, which was great. As far as wine goes, we used to get this delicious sweet raspberrywine in Hood River, OR from a local winery. I imagine h-berry wine would be similar. |
| Ellen |
Posted - Apr 01 2007 : 10:57:50 AM
Dear Jen,
O berry picking hikes were always a trip! Did you make huckleberry wine? I never quite brought back as many as I'd dream... did have some mighty chigger battles.
What was scarey about Rita out on the water? Did you talk about that in the book?
I think the best part of walking on the wildside with kids is they are more legs to lighten the over-all load... do you let Rita paddle now?
Have you bought gear for them?
I have not done any 20mile a day trips with out a horse or a boat in years.
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| Jen |
Posted - Mar 30 2007 : 1:50:20 PM
I totally agree, Ellen. My kids have been out with us hiking, camping, canoeing, fishing, and even elk hunting. Sam, my newbie, was out huckleberry picking with us when he was 4 days old! I just find that our outings are a lot easier & more fun when we don't push too hard, so we'd need a lot of days off to do a 20-mile pack trip! My new book, by the way, is called Wild with Child: Adventures of Families in the Field. It's a terrific anthology of stories by parents who "go wild" with kids. Trying to hook a publisher as we speak...
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| Ellen |
Posted - Mar 28 2007 : 4:12:07 PM
Dear Meg,
I forgot to ask where did you go to do the 18 miles?
The longest I did in a day was along the Appalachian Trail in NC...and we did 21 trying to outleg a momma bear.
Have you all ever met others/groups along your hikes going the same way? |
| Ellen |
Posted - Mar 28 2007 : 3:55:50 PM
Dear Jen,
First,your kids are big enough to come along NOW 
And kids in the woods are the best kind of sport
I don't maybe I guess I was too much thinking about the adventure *I* would be missing, to ever think hey now, I got a kid and can't go. I had my oldest out within the first month in the Red River Gorge.
There isn't a better place to teach potty training
He walked up Chisos Mtn, BigBend TX when he was 2 -3. Now he did get bored and want to be carried while we walked ridges for the next 3 days. We carried everything in and OUT, ya should have seen his look when we told him, that one.
Then when I had my 2nd, we went winter hiking into Joyce Kilmer Nat'l Forest, and the little one was 3 so my oldest was 7. That was a little scary with the icy trail...sno pants don't let you bend the legs.
Dear Meg,
Ooooo I have down pour stories too, but we didn't have a tent. We chose these overhanging rocks... then who else has to choose overhanging rocks... well they probably chose them first too
but having the big tomato saucey spaghetti dinner we cooked called in all their cousins. ...I slept with a hatchet that night... and woke up to rats on my sleeping bag.
So how many days before you felt dried out?
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| Jen |
Posted - Mar 27 2007 : 08:37:13 AM
Well now I've gotta try the canoe paddle sail idea, Ellen! Of course, then, my only real excercise at all will be portaging (unless kid-wrangling counts as a backcountry sport). I remember our first gentle, easy float with our 1st daughter, Rita, when she was 2. I was petrified of having her on the water, but that aspect turned out to be a breeze. It was the poopy diaper explosion, jungly woods portage, and broken glass on the gravel bar that caused me the most panic.
I have yet to take a serious backcountry hike, which seems ridiculous given all the time I've spent in wild places. Just a few miles. I'd love to take a serious backpacking trip for several days, either by myself or when my kids get big enough to come along.
Jen |
| Meg |
Posted - Mar 25 2007 : 09:28:28 AM
For me, there is something about hiking into a location without access to any other mode of transportation and all I need right on my back that feels so wonderful. With all that I seem to 'need' in my life, it is so grand to take a break from it all.
The longest hike I've done in one day was 18 miles out. On the way in we did it in two days but my boyfriend at the time had a new 'waterproof' tent and he kept wishing for a deluge to test it out. Well, we got one and the tent was water resistant. So out we hiked in the pouring rain and it was a big challenge for me...I remember just looking down at my boots and we hiked through the mud and rain streams and thinking over and over, my mom did this same hike with a 75 lb. pack multiple times! And I daydreamed about what meal I was going to treat myself to...steak and potatoes...or maybe grilled shrimp and a big fresh salad...or maybe strawberry shortcake overflowing with strawberries.
I am proud I did it...it's on that master list of little things that I've wanted to accomplish but didn't know if I could. But I will admit I do prefer to stick to the five mile hikes...much more leisurely.
MaryJane's daughter,
Meg
megan@maryjanesfarm.org |
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