I've never considered myself a hiker. When I would go on vacations or do day trips I would go on day hikes. If I was suffering from cabin fever I would go shopping or plan a vacation. Then I became a Mom and just getting out of the front door was such an exertion that the walk from our door to the car was a hike for me. Walking around the neighborhood pushing a stroller was a huge accomplishment. It also kept me sane. Soon those easy strolls turned into more courageous "hikes" and eventually I became pretty proficient at lugging a 20lb baby and all the gear he requires strapped to my chest/back. Now I could call myself a hiker.
Group hiking with other Mamas was so beneficial. Not only are you with people who get it when you have to stop to shove a hat or boot back on the appropriate body part but you can vent about how crappy and frustrating life indoors can be with your little one and not feel judged. We would hike until we gauged when our babies were about to have meltdowns. If we could make it back to our cars before the stress-inducing wailing began we could pride ourselves on our Mommy Intuition. Otherwise we would just power through with our heads down and get there with a determination unknown to us before.
My "baby" is still a baby but at 15 months old he can last much longer on a hike without having a complete meltdown. Teddy Grahams and a cup of water can hold him over for hours and diaper changes are not as frequent a need as before. I've always been a proponent for stopping and being aware of the beauty of nature during hikes. On the way out and up it's an easy task. For some reason now that I am in Mom mode when we head back and down the hill I tend to lower and my head and just try to get back to the car like when he was tiny. It's like at the end of a workout and you are trying to cool down but all you can think about is what you need to do as soon as you step out of the gym, what to make for dinner or making mental lists of things you need from the store.
Today I took the kid out for a gorgeous 2.65 mile hike. I stopped and took pictures and sang songs along the way until I hit the turn-around point and went into "just get back to the car in one piece without wanting to tear my hair out" mode. No stopping to admire the view or taking the breath and energy to sing or talk to my little guy. Why? The hike was only half-way over. At one point I felt a little hand reach his way around the backpack carrier cover he was in and tug so hard on my pony-tail that my head was forced up and I had to stop and catch my balance. He was completely silent and I had to double take and look around me. The sun was just going behind the hill and the view was amazing. I realized that I still had another mile to go and I wasn't going to do it with my head down. As he gets older our hikes will get longer and I need to remember that this hike isn't over until my fat baby cries or I could miss so much.
